I was privileged to spend two amazing days of learning with Rick McGuire, at Aircraft Simulator Training, in Burnet, Texas. I can confidently say that I learned more in those two days than in the last decade of flying with multiple instructors.
Rick has been flying twin Cessnas for decades. His tips, tricks, and suggestions come from personal experience, and real-life situations he has faced during these years. He is also an A&P, so when he teaches, he also covers the mechanical angle of a particular maneuver.
The simulator experience is second to none, based on X-Plane Pro. Rick masters any and all situations that you can face, and even some that you hope that apocalypse is near if they were ever to happen. How about hitting birds, on takeoff, at gross weight, on a single engine, with a busted airspeed indicator? Had that scenario happened in the early part of the first day of training, I would have certainly crashed the sim. On the second day, though, I was able to get back to the airport safely.
Rick tailors your training to the type of flying you actually do. I fly regularly in and out of Big Bear City (L35) in the mountains of south California. It is a very challenging little airport. Rick had me do approaches into Big Bear down to minimums. He failed an engine on takeoff several times, under different loads, wind conditions, density altitudes, etc.
You will be exhausted at the end of your days of training. But you will leave AST’s state-of-the-art facilities smiling from ear to ear.
If you are anywhere near Texas, the choice is completely clear. Heck! If you are anywhere in the world, book time with Rick. It’ll be the best training experience you’ll ever have.