Flight Simulator

Flight Simulator

Flight simulators play an essential role in maintaining the exceptional level of safety that commercial airlines offer the traveling public. Modern flight simulators are available for all types of commercial aircraft, with mock cockpits that include functional analogs of every control in the real cockpit, and simulator time is an required component of every airline transport pilot's training.

Flight simulators developed from the obvious desire to provide a training environment for student pilots that did not necessitate actually being in a plane. Early airline pilot training, in the 1940s, did require the use of actual planes, which was both expensive and provided a less-than-ideal practice environment.

The simplest type of simulator is a cockpit procedure trainer, which is simply a replica of the cockpit of a particular type of plane, in which a student can be taught the location and use of the instruments and controls. These CPT's are still in use today for general training.

Full-scale flight simulation had to await the advent of digital computers powerful enough to simulate the many events that occur during flight. Since the 1970s, these machines have developed in complexity until they were effectively able to simulate every aspect of normal and abnormal flight. Especially important was the ability to place pilots in dire emergencies -- situations that would likely result in fatal accidents without proper response from the cockpit -- and this emergency training was probably the single most beneficial aspect of modern flight simulation. In addition, the flight instructor could tailor the simulator's programs to suit the identified weaknesses of the student. This would be impossible in a real plane, since the instructor would have little control over real-world situations, as would certainly not wish to create emergencies while actually airborne.

The modern flight simulator is an enclosed space that is roughly the size of the cockpit it is meant to simulate. It is mounted several feet off the floor on movable supports, and these supports can move the enclosure to simulate the actual motion of the airplane in response to the pilot's control inputs. Images are generated outside the "window" of the simulated cockpit, simulating different types of aviation situations from takeoff to landing. A pilot inside the simulator sees the flight situation projected outside the window exactly as it would appear from the cockpit of the real plane. The simulator can create any type of emergency situation, from failed engines or landing gear, to instrument failures, to weather-related problems such as severe turbulence or icing. Simulators can be programmed to replicate operations in the vicinity of particular cities that the given airline serves. Pilots in the simulator are closely monitored by trainers and their responses to different situations evaluated. All flight simulators used by airlines are FAA-approved, and pilots are required to use them. The expense is substantial -- a new simulator can cost as much as $20,000,000 -- but the steady improvement in airline safety records can be attributed at least in part to the realism of the ground-based training pilots now receive.