Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

For your flight instructor to provide effective remote coaching, there are two key things that need to be shared:

• Voice communications
• A view of your simulator (outside view, cockpit, instruments, external panels, etc.)

Generally, Zoom is used to facilitate sharing both of these with your instructor.

All you have to do is join your instructor’s Zoom meeting using a link, and press the Share Screen button.

At that point, the instructor will see everything that you see on your screen, and they can provide coaching services

Once you have determined which flight instructor best fits your needs, we invite you to schedule a free consultation call, where your instructor will discuss a recommended coaching plan to fit your exact needs.

After the consult, you can schedule your first full session. Our scheduling software makes it easy – even if your instructor is halfway across the world – by converting all scheduling into your local time zone.

There are three main reasons why Flight Sim Coach exists:

1. To enhance the quality and efficiency of pilot training using desktop flight simulators
2. To help hobbyist flight simmers learn more efficiently from real-world pilots/instructors
3. To help provide technical assistance to all flight simulator users

While YouTube is an excellent resource, our clients appreciate the ability to get instant feedback on their performance, get immediate answers to their questions, and receive coaching that is targeted to reach their goals as efficiently as possible.

One of our students put it this way: “Friends, as much I love YouTube for figuring things out, it has rudely never once answered a question I pondered out loud. In direct contrast, Dave was patient and happy to answer my many questions during our session.“

You can filter our instructor list to see which one has expertise in your simulator and type of flying. Check out their calendars to see which instructor’s availability matches your own. If you are not sure who to pick, please fill out this form.

Many of our offer free consultation sessions. See our instructor list for scheduling links.

Note: Unfortunately, free consultations are not provided for those seeking simulator setup or technical support. However, we are happy to address any questions and coordinate with the instructor regarding any concerns if you contact us before booking.

After you make a booking, we will send you a complete list of preparation instructions, covering screen share software, simulator optimization, and other resources like checklists.

Generally, an internet upload speed of 5 Mbps is sufficient for your instructor to provide remote coaching services. If your upload speed is less, please contact us.

No. The use of webcam is at your discretion. The main thing is that your instructor can see your screen.

The minimum requirement is to have some kind of audio headset (or other speaker/microphone combination) hooked up to your flight simulation computer to facilitate clear voice communications.

If you do not have one, please contact us before your session.

Yes. Users must be recognized as adults by applicable law. Minors may only use the service under parental or adult supervision. All users must be at least 13 years old.

• The remote coaching service must not be used while you are flying a Full Flight Simulator (FFS) or Flight Training Device (FTD), except with prior coordination and permission. This does not apply to those flying uncertified home flight simulators or Aviation Training Devices (ATDs).
• The remote coaching service is to be used solely for entertainment purposes or as a supplement to pilot training. It must not be used as the primary source of training for the operation of any actual aircraft.
• The remote coaching service is not considered to be loggable flight, simulator, or ground instruction.
• The remote coaching service is not a substitute for formal, loggable in-aircraft training or ground instruction with the Certified Flight Instructor who will be signing your logbook.

Here’s what to expect:

1. Join the Zoom call a few minutes early using the link in your confirmation email
2. Share your screen so your instructor can see your simulator
3. Fly together – your instructor watches your screen and provides real-time coaching through voice. They might ask you to try a maneuver, point out habits to correct, or walk you through procedures step-by-step
4. Ask questions anytime – sessions are interactive, not lectures

Think of it like having an instructor in the right seat, except they’re seeing exactly what you see on your monitor. They can’t touch your controls, but they can guide you through everything verbally and using screen annotation in Zoom.

For tech support sessions, your sim tech will use remote desktop software to take control of your computer and efficiently handle setup, troubleshooting, or configuration – you just sit back and watch (or ask questions!).

Software: We have instructors with experience in most types of desktop flight simulator software and hardware, so there is no specific requirement. Most of our clients use X-Plane and/or Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Hardware: Either a yoke or joystick with throttle control is sufficient. Rudder pedals are highly recommended.

Yes. Check out our Flight sim setup and tech support service.

Yes. Check out our Pre-Purchase Consult service.

Yes. Your flight instructor can generally help with basic flight control calibration. For detailed technical support, please see our dedicated Tech Support service.

The value you get from simulator training, and the likelihood of not developing bad habits, is highly dependent on the quality of the instruction you receive. An FAA-certified instructor is trained in the fundamentals of teaching and learning. One of the most important aspects of this is the “law of primacy”, which the FAA describes as:

“Primacy, the state of being first, often creates a strong, almost unshakable impression and underlies the reason an instructor must teach correctly the first time and the student must learn correctly the first time.”

A high-quality real-world instructor will be able to teach you properly, using real-world procedures and airmanship thinking, from day 1. This will help to avoid costly “reteaching” of material and fixing bad habits you would otherwise develop on your own, without the help of an instructor.

Yes. We typically do not provide remote coaching to real-world student pilots on maneuvers and topics which are highly dependent on the “feel” of the aircraft. For example, we do not advise that student pilots practice landing flares, low-speed handling characteristics, etc.

For everything else, even though the simulator may not react to your control inputs in the same way the real airplane would, this can be a good thing for developing your flexibility as a pilot. You will have to learn to adapt to multiple aircraft types as you fly new airplanes as a pilot; think of your simulator as being just one of those many aircraft types you will eventually want to learn.

Working with our team of experienced flight instructors and simulator users can help mitigate this, by explaining what things may feel or behave differently in the actual aircraft versus the simulator.

No. The use of a non-certified simulator is not considered logable by the FAA (read more). Our coaching is simply a supplement to your real-world flight training.

However, we are confident that training with us will reduce your actual number of hours required in the actual aircraft – significantly reducing the cost of your pilot training.

This is a valid concern. This is one of the main reasons to use a skilled instructor – to ensure that the proper habits of using a visual “sight picture” are taught from day one.

Your instructor will generally have the ability to cover up various instruments (or even the entire panel) using our screen sharing software to help mitigate this and force you to focus on external visual references.

While we firmly believe in the value of desktop simulator training, there are definite limitations. Here are some items that are impractical to teach properly in a desktop simulator environment:

• Takeoffs / landings: While there is definite training value in practicing traffic patterns and approaches, we cannot effectively teach landings in a simulator, as they are highly dependent on seat of the pants feel, proper height above runway/visual cues with peripheral vision, etc.However, the good thing is that when you don’t have to think as much about the other tasks which we can effectively train in the simulator (the relationships between pitch and power, approach procedures, monitoring ATC, etc.), you will be able to focus more on just landing the airplane, and learn landings more quickly.
• Preflight / fueling procedures / walkarounds / postflight
• Seat-of-the-pants cues, such as the feeling of uncoordinated flight and buffeting as you get close to stall
• Muscle memory (pushing buttons on the GPS, for example) – unless you have a more sophisticated setup with physical hardware or touchscreens

Check out this article to see our comparison of a typical 1.5 hour flight lesson to a typical 1.5 hour remote coaching session.

No. We understand the value of flight simulation as a rewarding hobby, even if you have no intention of flying in real life.

Some of our instructors began their aviation careers based on an interest in flight simulation from a young age – so we completely understand the perspective of the hobbyist simmer who wants to learn as realistically and accurately as possible, in a way that other flight instructors and pilots might not.

We absolutely encourage hobbyist simmers to use our service.

Probably. We have instructors who are specialized in a variety of aircraft types and add-ons, including airliners, corporate jets, and helicopters. Check out the profiles of our Flight Instructors for more details, or contact us to get matched with the best instructor for your situation.

We offer a discount if you purchase a package of hours.

We accept payment via credit card (processed by Stripe). If you require an alternative payment method, please contact us.

You can schedule sessions in your Hours and Scheduling Portal (my.flightsimcoach.com).

To ensure fairness to our instructors, our system processes cancellations and schedule changes automatically based on exactly when you confirm the change in the portal. All changes must be made directly through the Flight Sim Coach Portal.

• More than 24 Hours Notice: No fee. You can reschedule or cancel for a full credit/package return.
• 12 to 24 Hours Notice: A 50% late fee applies.
  • Rescheduling option: You can choose to pay the 50% fee OR simply shorten your session duration by 50% to avoid paying extra.
• Less than 12 Hours Notice: A 100% cancellation fee applies .

Note: These policies are applied automatically by the system at the moment you click confirm.

For more details, please see our terms and conditions.

We highly recommend that you contact your instructor as soon as possible if you know that you will be running late.

A no-show will be considered to occur if you do not join your coaching session within 15 minutes of the start time without informing your instructor that you will be late. Your instructor will make at least one attempt to contact you via email or phone during the first 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the session will be considered to be over and the instructor will not be obligated to wait further. No refund will be available.

For more details, please see our terms and conditions.

You may only complete one free consultation per flight instructor. If you have already paid for a one-on-one coaching session with a given instructor, you are no longer eligible to take a free consultation with them.

Free consultations which are canceled with less than 24 hours of notice, or which result in a no-show, cannot be rescheduled. If this happens, to complete the consultation, you will need to purchase a full coaching session at normal rates. In either case, you will not be eligible for free consultations with other flight instructors.

Please do not email your instructor to change an appointment. To modify a booking, log in to the Flight Sim Coach Portal.

1. Locate the upcoming session in your dashboard list.
2. Click the Reschedule or Cancel button next to the appointment.
3. The system will automatically calculate any applicable credits or fees based on the time remaining before the session.

The most accurate list of your scheduled sessions is always available on your Portal Bookings Page.

While you will also receive email confirmations and calendar invitations (which you can add to your Google or iCloud calendar), your Dashboard is the authoritative source.

If a booking appears on your Dashboard, it is confirmed in our system.

When your booking is confirmed, our system generates a Zoom link for your session.

You can access this link in two ways:

1. Via Email: Look for the confirmation or reminder email, which contains a “Join Session” link.
2. Via Portal (Recommended): Log in to my.flightsimcoach.com/bookings. You will see a “Join Zoom” button next to your appointment time.

Important Note: Please ensure your email address is correct in your profile settings. If you are not receiving emails, check your spam folder or rely on the Portal buttons to join your session.