Flight Simulation
Created | Updated Apr 17, 2003
Flight simulators are the ultimate video game, creating a virtual reality in which the participant is immersed completely. Primary purpose of a flight simulator is to provide a training environment in which it is safe for the pilot to practice unsafe procedures; a bonus from using a simulator is that pilots get training at a fraction the cost of flying a real aircraft.
Simulated flight has a long history that stretches back to the early days of flight. Early aeroplanes were often unstable and idiosyncratic in their behaviour, so any training that could be had before strapping on the real thing was a great benefit. Modern aircraft are much safer machines, equipped with complex systems to aid safe navigation in the air over land and sea, and to facilitate communication with other aircraft and air traffic controllers around the world.
A person who has any form of flight training has an advantage over the person who is a complete novice to aircraft and aviation, this is especially so for those persons who join the Air Force and Navy to train as pilots — even a person who has experience with Microsoft Flight Simulator running on a destop personal computer has a distinct advantage.
Commercial Aircraft
Pilots of commercial aircraft are required to process large amounts of information presented to them by the aircraft systems and by the busy environment in which they operate. It is a work-load that increases exponentially at airports like Dallas-FortWorth, Denver International, and London Heathrow. A pilot must be capable of divided attention and of keeping track of several things at once; it is a natural ability developed by training. Numerous accidents happen when the unfortunate pilot becomes focussed on dealing with a problem—something as mundane a replacing a burned-out lamp—instead of flying the aircraft1.
Military Aircraft
Military pilots of fighter aircraft must be capable of processing even more information than that presented to pilots of civil aircraft, orders of magnitude more, all the while executing aerobatic evolutions in a tiring high-gravitational combat environment. Death can visit the pilot who makes a small mistake because the small mistake can rapidly become a disaster.
At Stinson Field, nearby San Antonio, Texas, a trainee instructor pilot was undergoing conversion from an F15 to a T-6A Texan-II. On final approach he was instructed to lower the flaps. Instinctively, the trainee instructor reached for the flap lever only to shut-down the single engine. In the T-6A the engine shut-off lever is in about the same location as the F15 flap lever. Unable to restart the engine because of ensuing confusion in the cockpit between the student and instructor, the two crew were forced to eject with subsequent loss of the airframe.
Just like civil pilots, military aviators need training, lots of it. A large portion of this necessary training is done in flight simulators. Motto of the oldest and largest aviation training organisation in the world is: the best safety device in any aircraft is a well-trained pilot. . . .
Further Reading
These topics explain in general how flight simulation is accomplished technically, and what happens to the trainee undergoing training.
