Getting A Pilot’s License With Infinite Flight

I downloaded IF on may 19 2012 with my dad, not knowing the impact it would have on my life. This flight sim has gotten me involved in aviation and is one of the core reasons I’m in flight school right now. Thanks to the whole dev team for making me realize my dream!

When I first downloaded this sim, I was just getting into aviation, after a few years, aviation is my life, and I’m planning to get in aviation school.

This is awesome. As I finish up my ground school this month and finish up the paperwork for my Student Pilot License (I just need my medial done which is scheduled for next week), I have noticed how realistic some of the things in IF are. Topics covered in ground school have been perfected by hopping into the C172 at my home airport, KOSH and playing with wind variables and other items. As I begin my PPL course this fall, I can’t wait for the journey ahead and how IF will help me along the way.

Instructor:

So, what do you do? You above clouds and
you only have a VFR rating…

Me with 6 years of IF experience:

go to settings, weather and remove the clouds

I downloaded Infinite flight on November 17th, 2013. I was 6, so of course I had no idea what I was doing. Over the next few years I learned more and more and became more interested in aviation, and I started going to the overlook at my airport every time I got the chance. I remember when live was first introduced, but the first update I remember being extremely excited for was global. I remember waiting years and checking the app store every minute until one day after school in 2017 it was there. I remember the 787 coming. It was the first aircraft with wing flex. Like others have said, infinite flight has had a huge impact on my life and I’m so thankful I started playing when I did. I’ve been here for a long time and I’ve seen the simulator grow so much. I can’t wait to see where the future will take us :)

I’d also like to add that I’ll start flight school next year! I can’t wait!

instructor proceeds to kick you out of flight school

Honestly, Infinite Flight helped me the most, by giving me the ability to practice whenever and however I wanted, for my instrument rating. Procedure turns, intercepting tracks, holds, flying approaches…and much more.

I think it’s magnificent to have the that kind of power to practice real-world IFR skills in the palm of your hand.

And of course, radio comms. Even though it’s simplified, and there’s more variations in the real world, IFATC helps to understand the basic format of “radio telephony” pretty well - when it’s laid out in a grid format like you have in the sim. Suddenly when you get into a real aircraft, the radio language is not as alien as you thought it might be.

Edit: just remembered. Had written about it at the time too:

It’s not just the simulator itself that’s helped. Being on the community and communicating with other like minded people helps me learn a lot and teach people when I get the chance

Well said, Jason. I’ve been using IF to help me prepare for my PPL, and I have learned so much along the way. What does the trim thing mean? What are flaps? Are you sure the plane is not supposed to land at 180 kts? What are a METAR and TAF? Are you telling me people read this thing like a book?

I enjoy telling my people my thought on Infinite Flight and how it is helping me prepare to go to a flight school! When people ask me about Infinite Flight and the simulator, I always tell them that it is the most hands-on experience flying an airplane on mobile! You pay good money for what comes out every update. This handheld simulator is how you get through flight school.

I’m happy that I found IF four years ago, and I’m happy that I found this community! I’m excited for the next years to come, and I will never leave IF!

Back in 2017 I actually used Infinite flight to familiarise myself with flying the Boeing 737 for a flight simulator test and it helped a lot.

Now I use Infinite flight to find switches in the Cessna 172 for my Co Curricular Activity since the cockpits are almost the same(The difference is the numbers and items shown on the screen). I also use it as a way to memorise steps to flying.

This ^^

I was suprised at the similarity between IF and irl tower comms

I’ve met pilots in real life before, and all of them are surprised with how much I know about aviation, seeing how I’ve never even taken 1 lesson. I give credits to Infinite Flight for bringing me a better understanding of aviation, from flying basics to even ATC. Even though it’s just a mobile simulator it has taught me a lot and I hope it continues to on the road to getting my PPL.

August 2018- I download IF for the first time.

August 2019- I take my first discovery flight.

August 2020- I begin flight training through a university 141 program.

May 2021- I finish my PPL.

Currently- Shooting for IR and CPL next spring/summer.

While Infinite Flight as the app itself was valuable in some of the ways you described in the article, I hope you found another aspect of the app even more helpful just as I have- the community!

What got me hooked to the app wasn’t the app itself, but the community that came with it. Before Infinite Flight, I knew no one who had similar interests in aviation. Once I began to join VAs and interact here on the forum, I was able to expose myself to endless learning about the realities of real-world aviation, allowing me to gain invaluable perspectives on what training and a career in aviation or aviation-related fields would look like. Imagine having all the information you need to seriously explore aviation as a profession located throughout a mobile flight sim community. I don’t know a lot of other places you can find that. (For free!)

It’s always been the intangibles here that have made Infinite Flight great for me. Yes, of course, the app is great. I did in fact also fly my first dual XC on IF before flying it IRL this year. I am of course looking forward to using IF for practice relating to instrument flying. But the community has easily been the strongest support and motivation I’ve needed to commit to pursuing flight throughout university and beyond. As most people know or have figured out, a lot of aviation in real life is just knowing people and networking, using connections to secure opportunities and knowledge. That’s what this community can really allow you to do if you take full advantage of it.

This game has really helped me get in to aviation and if it wasn’t for the great people here at IF I wouldn’t have a clue what you were saying if you said 737 and I installed this app 2017 after seeing it on Swiss001 channel and I would not be a aspiring pilot if it wasn’t for this game but I still have a long way till flight school

That’s amazing! I never really used IF for my private pilot but for my instrument rating it has helped with flying all my instrument approaches and then also flying the SIDs realistically

I downloaded this thinking it was going to be some short term little whatever back in like 2012 or so. Little did I know that this sim (and the addition of several commercial flights) would have such a large impact on my life.

In 2017 I started to look around the App store for flight simulators. I tried out almost every single one, and nothing compared to IF. Infinite flight has not only grown my passion for aviation, but also my knowledge of it. I have learned so much from this game, and regret not buying IF pro earlier(I just bought it a few months ago). I love the idea of VA and flying real life routes, and the Infinite Flight Community has only grown my love for the game. My take on Infinite Flight is that you have to make it basic, even though it sounds boring, because the majority of IF customers when they download IF, are not going to be pilots or soon-to-be pilots. They are going to be like how I was, very dumb and very little knowledge about aviation, and they are just going to want to have fun. The more complicated you make the system or cockpit, the more it intimidates and overwhelms these new customers and flyers, which wont make it fun for them. Of course they will all learn at some point and their knowledge will grow, but as they do get more advanced, they will want to see some more systems, like a hands on cockpit and more advanced features. So a solution to this is to leave the casual and training servers more basic, but then adding these more complicated and advanced features to expert servers, so as everyones knowledge grows and people want to see more, it can be waiting for them in the expert server.

Just the thought that a mobile flight sim can help people get their ppl is amazing! No need for any fancy stuff, just something as simple as an iPad can give you so much knowledge on aviation. Amazing blog Jason!