There are all sorts of flight simulator rides that you can buy, but many are little more than video games designed to shake you around as much as possible. Other simulators might feature realistic cockpits and video displays, but don’t offer any motion. Opportunities for the Public to Fly Commercial Aircraft Simulators In this post, I’ll share how you can use your points and miles to try out a professional-grade simulator, so you can still get in the captain’s chair even if you don’t have your pilot’s license. As a commercially rated pilot myself, I have plenty of time flying actual aircraft, and I found the experience of flying a full-motion simulator to be surprisingly accurate, as the entire structure rotates along three axes to create the impression of aircraft movement. Professional-grade flight simulators cost tens of millions of dollars, and are sometimes worth even more than the actual aircraft they’re simulating. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to “fly” one of United Airline’s Airbus A320 full-motion simulators at the airline’s Denver training center, along with the winners of the United MileagePlus Exclusive Auctions.

However, you can come pretty close to the experience of being a commercial pilot by sitting in the cockpit of a full-motion flight simulator. There are a couple of seats on every flight that you can’t reserve no matter how many miles you have. However, for those of you who have ever wanted to try sitting at the real front of the plane, TPG Senior Points & Miles Correspondent Jason Steele has some suggestions. Here at TPG, we talk a lot about how to sit at the “front” of the plane (that is, the business- and first-class cabins).

Realflight 7,5 cost