Does anyone sell access to their sim as a business?

[fsaviator]

I'll chime in as I've spent years thinking the same and flying sims (in sim centers) all over the world.

There is a market for this and I've seen proof of this in Europe.  It is not as big as one would think though.  I have yet to wait more than a half hour to get into a sim at the last minute.

One thing all these sims have in common.  They feel cheap and fragile when I fly them (even though many of them use the same high end parts I use in my sim).  The parts we use just don't hold up to use by those that haven't spent countless hours building a sim.  There have always been glitches that I as a builder was willing to overlook (even at 100EU an hour) because I'm used to it (boot issues, freezes, stutters, etc).  A "civilian" probably would not accept those glitches.

Generally, the cost is about $100 an hour.  How many hours would you have to sell to pay for a full FDS setup, with 180 degree visuals?  I say FDS as an example as cobbled together sims will just add many hours of issues as compared to the reliability of one vendor and integration.  Add in storefront costs, insurance, and cost of pro version software and equipment?  Then repairs.  Constant repairs as kids tear off knobs, adults break thrust levers, and just general wear and tear.

Then factor in legal fees and copyright issues.  It's one thing to call something a Boeing 737 in your basement...  it's another to call it a Boeing 737 in relation to a simulator business.  And it's not just Boeing or Airbus... Rockwell-Collins, ACE Yokes, FDS etc.

Then there is of course the accreditation.  A non-starter from the get-go, but is that really the market?  Based on letting pilots fly my sim, I would venture to say they would pay between $50-$75 an hour to run procedures in my cockpit a couple of times a year, but not more than that and not for logged time and they really don't need me to run anything.  They will want to come in pairs and run it all themselves.

So who do I think the greatest audience is?  Birthday parties and team building events.  Then I shudder to think of a bunch of rug-rats standing on my seats and hanging off my yokes while cranking on my TQ.  Of course they don't care that I am not a 737 rated pilot running a sim, either.

I'll finish by going back to the beginning.  I don't believe the market in the US is big enough.  Take a look at the Prosim737 forum google map to see where we all live and you will see patterns of sim-crazy people.  The US lags way behind Europe and the Middle East on sim fanatics.  I attribute that to lifestyles and bias.

With all that said, I'm also thinking about going pro when I retire.  I'd sink some overhead into it for a little bit of return, and worse comes to worse, I'll have plenty of time to fly if there is no business.

[airupthere]

Man I tell ya', I go from thinking, "i'm gonna do this" to "holy crap I've lost my marbles"!!

You guys do offer great advice. I think it's like this.. "have fun, build a sim".. as for the money-making side of it.. best of luck. I'll keep hanging out with you guys, because this stuff is cool as hell. I would like to think somewhere down the road I might have something to offer the community, if nothing else, to just be a part of it.

Randy

[fsaviator]

That's the attitude, Randy.

Just build and fly, and enjoy!

[FredK]

Randy...

You may find the following link interesting..

http://thepointsguy.com/2015/08/professional-flight-simulators/

It details 10 professional flight simulators available to the public.

Fred K