When it comes to learning advanced integrated avionics, the airplane is perhaps the worst place to learn. But the right simulator is the better option for obvious reasons, and not all are created equal. One company—Flight1 Aviation Technologies—is working to change the avionics training market for the better with its AATD (Advanced Aviation Training Device) platforms. Using software that mimics every feature of Garmin’s G1000 NXi (and the Cirrus Perspective+) and realistic hardware, Flight1 developed turnkey simulators for later-gen Cirrus SR airplanes and also for the Piper PA-28. Now it’s working to bring more models to flight schools and individuals in an answer to increased demand. In this episode of the Smart Aviator Podcast, we talked with Flight1’s Calvin Fraites about the sims, what makes them good for learning avionics, and how buyers might choose any simulator.
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Larry-
I recognized Calvin’s name from nearly 30 years of using the ELITE IFR flight simulator.
I see that Calvin’s name is still on the flyelite.com website saying he is “Managing Director Americas (North, Central, South America)”. Is Flight1 a spin off of ELITE (Elite Simulation Solutions) or it a separate company and he has left ELITE?
ELITE is rarely discussed in the sim articles, but it has served me well over the years. I use it to practice approaches to airports I’ve not been to before. Prior to the killing off of IFR Magazine, I used it to go through the Sim scenarios that Jeff and Ryan would serve up every 3 months. Those were great, and got me to do things in the sim that I would never do in the real airplane, but made me a better IFR pilot. Sure wish they’d bring those back.
Good news – the sim challenge is back, and it’s still Jeff Van West. Check it out: https://ifrfocus.com/2025/11/there-and-back-again/
yes, a huge thanks to Jeff Van West for the Sim Challenge. It was one of the amazingly resourceful learning exercises that went away when IFR Magazine was cancelled, and many have missed it.
Hi Larry,
Really great to hear from a longtime ELITE user — I appreciate you sharing that! And yes, I’m still the Managing Director for ELITE North America. ELITE and Flight1 have enjoyed a strong partnership for over 15+ years now. While we’re separate companies, our collaboration has produced some excellent training devices over the years — one example being the ELITE PI-1000, which was a joint Flight1/ELITE project that combined the strengths of both teams.
Today, we continue that partnership by offering Flight1’s Cirrus and Archer simulators alongside ELITE’s own product line. I’m glad to hear that your ELITE system has continued to serve you well — especially for IFR practice and scenario training. It’s always rewarding to know our simulators are helping pilots stay sharp and confident in the cockpit.
Best regards,
Calvin
Thanks for the follow up Calvin and explanation on the relationship between ELITE and Flight1.
I appreciate what you have done in the past, what you are doing now, and wish you further success in your efforts to produce great simulation devices!
Hi John- Thanks to Sporty’s and you for IFR Focus and giving Jeff Van West a forum to continue his excellent aviation writing. He has certainly taught me more about IFR flying than anyone else through the Sim Challenge over the years. Many, many gotchas.
How long ago was the first IFR Focus Sim Challenge posted? I didn’t receiv an email notice.
I signed up for IFR Focus immediately after it was announced last June. I have received monthly emails announcing a new article, and links to some additional content. But, I see there’s been a ton of new content added that I was completely unaware of.
Thinking something might be wrong with my subscription since I didn’t get notice of the Sim Challenge, I tried re-subscribing this AM, but with entering my email address I get “An error occurred when submitting. Please try again later.”.
I tried a different email address and got the same thing. Tried a third that I know I didn’t use in June, and still got the error.
I then went to the main IFR Focus sign up page (https://ifrfocus.com/email-signup/?utm_source=BlogEmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IFR%20Focus_25063E&utm_id=01JY28VM1FVR7FEETTXCXRY4Y1&utm_term=SUBSCRIBE%20TO%20READ%20MORE&utm_content=Introducing%20IFR%20Focus&_kx=Zy1MaM6DpF8DNC5fktKpqfMWVUwB3Ttk_S-H3mHvHo4.VN4xYk) and got the same message, so something appears to be wrong with the website.
I’d personally like to have an email anytime new content is posted to IFR Focus. Maybe that could be set up as an option vs. just getting monthly emails?
I understand that some people might prefer less emails, but getting an email announcing a new article with some links at the bottom to some other articles that may be new or old is confusing.
The other option is to present it monthly more as a magazine with several articles presented equally as new, and then having a break on the page with links to older content.
In the last several years with the move from print to electronic delivery of content, my medical journals have moved from weekly or monthly email content to near daily emails as an option to keep the amount of content more manageable.
BTW, there’s not a link on IFR Focus to get support.
Thanks again for what you are doing with IFR Focus!
Did I hear Calvin correctly when he said that he is retrofitting an Avidyne Cirrus with a G3X set-up? I didn’t know that was a possibility. To my knowledge Cirrus was the one major standout where a Garmin/Dynon/any other? retrofit was not approved.
I think he meant early-gen Cirrus models retrofitted with a Garmin TXi display—which was the piece of B roll we showed in the video. The G3X isn’t on the AML for the Cirrus, and the TXi system has a similar user feature set.