The query originates from a student pilot who has completed private pilot ground school and is preparing for a first session in a Redbird MCX, an FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD) widely used by flight schools for procedural training, instrument work, and scenario-based learning at a fraction of the hourly cost of an aircraft. The question reflects a common and reasonable concern among primary students: sim time is billed at real rates, often $60-$150 per hour depending on the school, and unprepared students frequently spend the bulk of a session simply learning to operate switches, view screens, and the touch-panel interface rather than practicing the procedures the device was designed to teach. Preparation typically includes reviewing the Redbird MCX operating manual and any school-provided checklists, studying the specific aircraft avionics configuration loaded into the device (commonly a Garmin G1000 or similar glass panel, depending on the school's fleet), and mentally rehearsing basic flows such as engine start, taxi, takeoff, and pattern work before ever touching the yoke.
For instructors and training-department managers, this type of question is a useful reminder that AATD utilization efficiency is directly tied to student readiness, and that many Part 141 and Part 61 schools now issue pre-sim briefing packets or short e-learning modules specifically to front-load familiarization with switchology and menu navigation. Some schools record a five- to ten-minute orientation video walking through the MCX's visual system, control loading, and instructor operating station so that billable time is reserved for flying rather than button-hunting. This mirrors practices at the airline and business-aviation level, where full-flight simulator sessions are preceded by extensive computer-based training (CBT) and fixed-based procedures trainer work precisely because six-figure-per-day simulator costs demand that crews arrive ready to execute rather than orient.
The broader relevance to working pilots lies in the increasing centrality of simulation-based training across all sectors of aviation, from ab initio students in AATDs to airline crews in Level D full-motion devices used for type ratings, recurrent training, and LOFT (Line-Oriented Flight Training) scenarios. The FAA's continued expansion of allowable AATD credit toward instrument and commercial certification, along with the growing acceptance of simulator hours in lieu of aircraft time for certain training tasks, has made devices like the Redbird MCX a foundational part of the modern training pipeline. Efficient use of these devices from day one builds habits, such as disciplined checklist usage, systematic panel scans, and CRM-style workload management, that scale directly into airline and corporate simulator environments later in a pilot's career.
This also touches on a persistent industry conversation about training cost and value, particularly as flight training expenses climb amid instructor shortages, rising fuel costs, and increased demand driven by airline hiring pipelines. Students and career-changers entering aviation now are more cost-conscious and more likely to research best practices in advance, a shift that flight schools are increasingly capitalizing on with structured onboarding materials, pre-sim checklists, and sample syllabi. For flight instructors and chief pilots, threads like this one underscore the value of standardizing pre-simulator preparation across a training organization, ensuring that every student, regardless of individual initiative, gets consistent exposure to device familiarization before their first billable hour begins.