Software · head to head
CAE Flight Training vs Prepar3D Professional
CAE Flight Training
Software
World leader in professional flight training
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Prepar3D Professional
Software
Professional flight simulation platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Prepar3D Professional has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: CAE Flight Training mostly delivered through physical full-flight simulators and training centres rather than as software a customer installs; Prepar3D Professional the Personal licence at $59.95 is restricted to home use, personal training and K-12 classrooms, so any business, military or university use requires the Professional licence at $350.00
- They diverge on capability: CAE Flight Training covers Full-flight simulators, Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CAE Flight Training and Prepar3D Professional actually diverge.
| Attribute | CAE Flight Training | Prepar3D Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | usage-based | subscription |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | On-site | Windows |
| Founded | 1947 | 2008 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in CAE Flight Training
- Full-flight simulators
- Type rating training
- Crew resource training
- Maintenance training
- Certification
- Airlines
- Regulators
- Learning platforms
Only in Prepar3D Professional
- Flight physics
- Aircraft systems
- Scenery
- ATC
- Training
- Add-ons
- VR
- Hardware
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CAE Flight Training
- Type rating and recurrent training for airline and business jet pilotsnot Prepar3D Professional
- Cadet to captain airline training programmesnot Prepar3D Professional
- Cabin crew and maintenance technician trainingnot Prepar3D Professional
- Flight data analysis and operations management through Flightscapenot Prepar3D Professional
- Courseware and training records management with CAE Pelesysnot Prepar3D Professional
Prepar3D Professional
- Running procedural and flight training in a commercial or military simulation facilitynot CAE Flight Training
- Building multi-channel visual systems across several synchronised displaysnot CAE Flight Training
- Developing custom aircraft, scenery and scenarios against the Prepar3D SDKnot CAE Flight Training
- Delivering STEM and K-12 classroom flight simulation on the Personal licencenot CAE Flight Training
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
CAE Flight Training
- Mostly delivered through physical full-flight simulators and training centres rather than as software a customer installs
- The software pieces, Flightscape, CAE Rise and CAE Pelesys, are sold to airlines and operators rather than to individual pilots
- Pricing is not published
Prepar3D Professional
- The Personal licence at $59.95 is restricted to home use, personal training and K-12 classrooms, so any business, military or university use requires the Professional licence at $350.00
- Weapons and sensors, AI behaviors in scenarios, DIS and CIGI packet support, the SimOperator instructor station and multi-channel concurrent operation are confined to Professional Plus at $2,750.00
- The Personal licence requires an internet connection during use, while only Professional and above run in disconnected environments
- Developer subscriptions at $9.95 and $50.00 per month watermark the image and are forbidden from delivering training
Pricing, plan by plan
CAE Flight Training
On request- Pilot TrainingFree
- Full-flight simulators
- Type ratings
- Crew training
- Maintenance TrainingFree
- Technical training
- Systems training
- Certification
Prepar3D Professional
Free- EnthusiastFree
- Basic simulator
- Limited aircraft
- Scenery
- Professional$199/month
- Full platform
- All aircraft
- Training tools
Which should you pick?
Choose CAE Flight Training if
- You need full-flight simulators.
- You work on On-site.
- You also want type rating training.
Choose Prepar3D Professional if
- You need flight physics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows.
- You also want aircraft systems.
Questions people ask
- Is CAE Flight Training or Prepar3D Professional better?
- Neither clearly leads. CAE Flight Training starts at On request and Prepar3D Professional at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CAE Flight Training or Prepar3D Professional?
- Prepar3D Professional has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CAE Flight Training and Free for Prepar3D Professional.
- Does CAE Flight Training or Prepar3D Professional run on more platforms?
- CAE Flight Training runs on On-site. Prepar3D Professional runs on Windows.
- Can I use Prepar3D Professional for free?
- Yes. Prepar3D Professional has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CAE Flight Training starts at On request.
- What is CAE Flight Training best used for?
- CAE Flight Training is most often used for type rating and recurrent training for airline and business jet pilots, cadet to captain airline training programmes, cabin crew and maintenance technician training, flight data analysis and operations management through flightscape. Of those, type rating and recurrent training for airline and business jet pilots and cadet to captain airline training programmes are not what Prepar3D Professional is typically brought in for.
- What can CAE Flight Training do that Prepar3D Professional cannot?
- CAE Flight Training covers Full-flight simulators, Type rating training, Crew resource training, Maintenance training. Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics, Aircraft systems, Scenery, ATC.
Related pages
More on CAE Flight Training
More on Prepar3D Professional
Keep looking
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