Using RealSimGear with Fly This Sim

Fly This Sim was well-known for creating flight simulators, and were one of the only manufacturers with FAA approval for a touchscreen-based Basic Aviation Training Device (BATD). The company was in business for a decade and sold thousands of these units to help pilots, instructors, and students learn the complex systems of aircraft avionics. Even though there weren’t any actual knobs or buttons to interact with, the training was still more suitable than a keyboard and mouse.

Many people still have the Fly This Sim training devices and want to add more components or make them an approved BATD again. 

Is Fly This Sim Out of Business? 

While the Fly This Sim website is still live, you cannot buy anything from it because you’ll get a “flythissim.myshopify.com is currently unavailable” when you try to buy any of their products. We called their Corporate Headquarters and Sales Department office multiple times, and every time it rang, it eventually went to a busy tone. 

We also sent an email and received an automated message – “Your message wasn't delivered to sales@flythissim.com because the address couldn't be found or is unable to receive mail.” So it’s safe to say that Fly This Sim is out of business.  As such, their existing customers have no access to support, and it's likely their FAA Letter of Authorization (LoA) has expired, meaning their system is no longer approved by the FAA for logging time.

Upgrading Your Fly This Sim

For those who have already invested in a Fly This Sim system and want to incorporate some RealSimGear flight simulator components to improve upon its real-world effectiveness, we can help. Retro-fitting your current TouchTrainer and coupling it with our GNS430 or GTN650 can make practicing much more realistic.  The Fly This Sim used X-Plane 10 as its base, and in many cases, this can be upgraded to X-Plane 11 and then used with our hardware.  Do bear in mind that adding additional hardware to the system is not covered under the Fly This Sim LoA; using external hardware in this manner would not be approved for logging time.  However, since the LoA has likely expired, customers can modify it as they see fit.

If you’re looking for a more immersive package, try our G1000 Package. Using the existing throttle, yoke, and rudder pedals from the Fly This Sim, can can be a less expensive way of upgrading your flight simulator. 

Making The The Fly This Sim Touch Trainer a BATD

When the FAA approves a flight simulator system, they issue a Letter of Authorization (LoA) for the system that is valid for five years.  When Fly This Sim went out of business, they had not renewed their LoA; therefore, most Fly This Sim systems no longer have a valid LoA and, therefore, are no longer approved by the FAA as a BATD. While individual customers can submit their systems directly to the FAA in the hopes of being granted their own LoA, the FAA generally puts these applications at the bottom of the pile, and it will typically take 1-2 years to receive an LoA in this manner.  The good news is some of the hardware used in the Fly This Sim is covered by RealSimGear BATD systems.

In most cases, you can re-use the joystick, throttle, and rudder pedals that came with your Fly This Sim ($400 potential savings). In many cases, you can re-use the large screens and PC (subject to performance validation) that came with your Fly This Sim ($3000-$5000 potential savings), and the main TouchTrainer screen can be repurposed as the instructor station for the BATD ($250 potential savings). 

If you are interested in “upgrading” your Fly This Sim to a RealSimGear BATD system, we can create a custom quote for you that reflects re-using some of that hardware towards a RealSimGear  BATD system. For more information, please reach out to info@RealSimGear.com.