I go back to airline flying next month. Been a long time. In my basement I have followed Space Shuttle Commander and test pilot instructor Rick Searfoss’s advice:
“For best effect, chair flying even involves moving the hands as if you actually have a stick, throttle, and multiple switches in front of you. I went so far before my first space mission to set up a full-size paper copy of Columbia’s instrument panel in my home office. My kids laughed at Dad and his toy orbiter cockpit, but it aided in my preparation tremendously. Even to the present day, after I’ve flown eighty-four different types of aircraft, mental simulation is a key part of my preparation in learning a new airplane.”
Pretty amazing how useful a couple of cut up moving boxes, a taped up training poster, and my youngest son’s unused piano stool can be.
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Rick Searfoss was a veteran of three Space Shuttle flights, one as mission commander, a test pilot instructor, flew two other rocket-powered aircraft, and was briefly a B737 pilot for Southwest Airlines. The quote is from his 2016 book Liftoff: An Astronaut Commander’s Countdown For Purpose Powered Leadership.