PilotEdge Forums

Hi - I'm new to PE and sims after selling my real world plane and letting my medical lapse (I was doing a lot of flying for Angel Flight, often IFR, and started feeling uncomfortable doing that as I got deeper into my 70s.) I have yet to make my first PE flight.

My question: Do PE controllers expect everyone to be flying in the actual weather? In other words, is it going to throw them off in busy conditions if I set my weather for challenging low IFR conditions when the real world WX is typical SoCal nice? I can't imagine why it would, but I thought I'd ask, since it seems to sort of go against the idea of making PE as "real" as possible. (e.g. Having one person doing pattern work in a cub on a sunny day while someone else is battling howling crosswinds, pounding rain and bare minimums on the ILS to the same runway seems to sorta break the illusion.)

First off thanks for volunteering your time and money.... As a RW controller I also appreciate you realizing when it's time to stop... You're obviously a great pilot!

As for your question you can simulate any weather you like just advise the controllers... "I'm simulating precision minimums" etc

Honestly I'm not sure what they expect - but I use real world wx wherever I can.

As Ryan stated so eloquently above, thank you for your service and welcome to PE!

We reference the latest observed weather report when determining runway configurations and approaches in use for each airport. Cognizant of these real world situations we make certain operational and procedural decisions as this is one of the most efficient methods by which we are able to coordinate among each other and the majority of our pilots.

However, as I have encountered numerous times, pilots who wish to simulate IMC conditions for the purpose of proficiency and practice have stated their intentions over the frequency when in response to being pointed out to VFR traffic or being assigned a visual approach to the field. Once you notify one controller, that information will be coordinated among the others during passdowns and briefings.