Once fuel, maintenance and insurance are counted, a simulator costs far less to operate than an aircraft. Trainee pilots learn navigation and instruments, and practise situations that would be impractical or dangerous in the air, while pilot and instructor stay safe on the ground.
Training devices
- Cockpit Procedures Trainer (CPT)
- Basic Instrument Training Device (BITD)
- Navigation Procedures Trainer (NPT)
- Emergency and Exercise Procedure Trainer
- Communication and Weather Effect Trainer
- Flight Training Device (FTD)
Technical capabilities
- Aerodynamics simulation
- Cockpit instrumentation with real or simulated parts
- Customised graphics engine
- Wide field-of-view dome display
- Motion platform
- Weather: fog, rain, thunderstorm, CAT I / II / III
- Avionics simulation and customisable acoustics
- Geo-specific visual database from high-resolution satellite imagery
- HLA environment
- Instructor Operating System to create and control exercises
- Management information system recording pilot behaviour
Exercises
- Normal checks and procedures, taxi
- Take-off and landing (circuit work)
- Climb, descend, turns, stall and recovery
- Navigation and instructor flying
- Short landing and take-off
- Emergencies: start-up, take-off, after take-off, downwind