VFR Refresher Path
For private pilots returning to VFR flying
- Confident with G1000 navigation and autopilot
- Smooth radio communications and ATC procedures
- Ready for aircraft checkout at your flight school


Technology changed. Procedures evolved. Your skills need a modern foundation. Train one-on-one with airline pilots in our G1000 simulator to rebuild proficiency before returning to aircraft. Low-pressure environment. Professional standards. Manhattan location.
Structured training based on your experience level and time away from aviation
Aviator NYC rebuilds VFR and IFR proficiency in our FAA-approved AATD simulator before you return to the aircraft. Most rusty pilots regain confidence in 4-8 hours of simulator time — no checkout fees, no insurance surcharges, and airline pilot instructors who fly Boeing 737s and Embraer 175s professionally.
For private pilots returning to VFR flying
For instrument-rated pilots regaining currency
For pilots returning after years away

Returning to a Cirrus after time away? Rebuild Garmin G3000 avionics fluency before your first flight back. Practice approaches, autopilot modes, and emergency procedures on the same Perspective Touch+ workflow you will use in the airplane.
Aviator is moving to a new Midtown Manhattan location in October 2026 to make room for the simulator. Once the move is complete, the simulator order will be placed. Opening date to be announced; waitlist members hear first. We are still looking for investors for this project. See the investment opportunity.
Step-by-step G1000 training with airline pilots who use it daily. Start with basics, build to advanced features.
Practice ATC communications in realistic scenarios. Build fluency with phraseology, readbacks, and emergency calls.
Ground instruction on updated Part 91 regs, airspace changes, and new procedures since your last flight.
Low-pressure environment to rebuild skills privately. Make mistakes safely, repeat scenarios, restore command.
Simulator training at $215/hour vs $350+ aircraft rental. Build proficiency at half the cost before aircraft.
Train 7 days/week, early morning to evening. No weather cancellations, no aircraft maintenance delays.
Professional instruction in Manhattan. Build skills here, fly at the airport.
Learn from professionals who fly professionally.
Train in Hudson Square, minutes from any subway line.
Realistic training that counts toward your certificate.
Book sessions when it works for you. Evenings and weekends available.

Built by Precision Flight Controls • Model GTX G1000 • FAA AATD Certified

There's no reason to lose instrument currency in NYC. Log your required 6 approaches, holding, and tracking in our FAA-certified AATD—solo or with an instructor. Push your limits with mountain terrain, foreign airports, or challenging weather scenarios. Beyond 6 months? Prepare for your IPC in the simulator, then complete it efficiently in your aircraft.
You fly a steam-gauge airplane, and you are wondering whether simulator time on a glass panel helps you or confuses you.
The real worry is instrument compatibility: that you will build a scan on one panel and then fight it in the airplane you actually rent.
This comes up constantly, and there is a workable rule of thumb. Do roughly your first twenty hours in the G1000 simulator, then go back to the steam-gauge airplane. Front-loading the glass time keeps the two from competing while you are rebuilding the scan.
| G1000 — suggested for you | Cirrus SR | |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | Cessna 172R / 172S, Cessna 182T / T182T, Piper Archer, and Diamond DA40 | Cirrus SR20 and Cirrus SR22 |
| Avionics | Garmin G1000 NXi | Garmin Perspective Touch+ (G3000 displays, GTC 580 controllers) |
| Panel type | Knobs and soft keys | Touchscreen controllers |
| Autopilot | GFC 700 | GFC 700 |
| Software | Garmin G1000 PC Trainer (manufacturer software) | Cirrus Perspective Touch+ profile on X-Plane 12 |
| FAA status | FAA-approved AATD, loggable with an instructor | FAA-approved AATD, loggable with an instructor |
| Available | Now, in Hudson Square, Manhattan | Expected online at the new Midtown studio no later than November 1, 2026. |
What you get
Currency and confidence rebuilt on the ground, at a fraction of the cost of an hour of airplane time, without a scan that fights you.
What it costs to guess
Alternating panel types in short sessions is the fastest way to end up fluent in neither.
The G1000 simulator is an FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD). Flown with an instructor, the time counts toward the instrument rating, instrument currency, the private pilot certificate, and the commercial certificate.
The Cirrus SR simulator will be an FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD). Flown with an instructor, the time will count toward the instrument rating and instrument currency.
The Vision Jet simulator will be an FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD). Flown with an instructor, the time will count toward the instrument rating, instrument currency, and type rating preparation.
The VR simulators are recreational. They are not FAA approved, and time in them does not count toward any certificate, rating, or currency, even with an instructor.
Rebuild on the panel you will actually rent. For most returning pilots that is the G1000, the glass panel that replaced the round dials you trained on. Cirrus owners coming back to their own airplane should wait for the Cirrus SR machine and its Perspective Touch+ flight deck.
Fighter jet missions or training airplanes, and your group picks. Recreational flying, not training. Not FAA approved, and time in it never counts toward a certificate, rating, or currency, even with an instructor.
More about the VR simulatorsIPC requirements, simulator options, costs, and what to expect.
IPC requirements, simulator options, costs, and what to expect.
Aviator NYC's rusty pilot program rebuilds VFR and IFR skills in the simulator before you step back into an aircraft — no checkout, no pressure.
Aviator NYC's AATD can satisfy most IPC tasks, but a full Instrument Proficiency Check requires some maneuvers in an aircraft — the simulator prepares you to pass efficiently.
Aviator NYC recommends the G1000 NXi for most returning pilots — it matches the avionics at Republic Airport (KFRG) and Morristown Airport (KMMU) flight schools.
Aviator NYC's rusty pilot sessions use standard training rates — most pilots regain proficiency in 4–8 hours of simulator time.
Start rebuilding your flying confidence today.
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