What Is a Flight Simulator and How Is It Used?
Airplanes cost quite a lot of money. Plane crashes are pretty dangerous. That’s why not everyone is allowed to operate such a machine. Pilot training can take years. It almost always doesn’t start in a real airplane but in a so-called simulator. The word comes from the Latin word “simulare,” which means “to imitate” or “to make similar.”
As even the most experienced pilots and flight instructors say, training on a flight simulator in the commercial pilot profession is essential because the sense of flying is fundamentally unnatural to a human being. Consequently, it was immediately apparent that a pilot must undergo live training before climbing into the airplane’s cockpit. The use of flight simulation in civilian and military schools has become increasingly important.
Flight simulators run on a cell phone and can be controlled with two thumbs. Others look like the cockpit of a real airplane, with lots of buttons, controls, and gauges. The pilots who are trained there don’t look through windows but at screens. Let’s take a look at the flight simulators from a technical perspective.
What is a flight simulator?
A flight simulator is a technical device used for training purposes for prospective pilots and offers the opportunity to carry out a virtual flight. The main component of a flight simulator is the replica cockpit. The so-called link trainer is considered the most common type of flight simulator. It can be moved in all directions and thus ensures authentic flight conditions.
Flight simulators can be used to train hobby pilots and those who work in civil and military aviation. However, there are no uniform devices that apply to all training courses. This is because pilots need a different flight simulator for their training purposes than hobby pilots.
The type of flight simulator also depends on the size of the aircraft that you are allowed to fly after training as a pilot.
For years, flight simulators have been used to conduct many of the same training courses that were once only conducted in aircraft. As well as improving flight safety, simulation assists in accident investigations and aircraft design studies.
The advantages of the flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially recreates the flight of an airplane and the environment in which it is performed. This machine is also capable of recreating the operations and calculations underlying an aircraft’s navigation, simulating how the aircraft responds to external factors such as pressure, turbulence, wind, precipitation, and much more.
The flight simulator’s great advantage is improving the quality of training since it allows the student to try different flight maneuvers, including those too complex to reproduce in a real aircraft safely.
A flight simulator MS allows future pilots to try different scenarios that will help them develop their decision-making skills. All this is done in a controlled environment with the possibility of repeating the exercises.
Flight simulators are brought to a new level
What if you could train to learn to fly not just a jet but a real spaceship? This is possible thanks to the real flight simulator. Immersed in the virtual universe, space explorers can explore new galaxies or engage in missions. Different flight patterns (training, discovery, military missions) can adapt and grow with users’ needs. The advanced visual system is complete with sensor panels that copy the real-life spaceship bridge, offering high realism (HDVS and Force Feedback). Everything was created by space engineers to allow for immersion in the atmosphere of space exploration, including navigation, hydraulics, life support systems, and weaponry.
From flight to space simulators: a matter of time
As we have said so far, the simulator is an essential tool to support the pilot in his decision-making process, which we know is an essential part of training. One of the most essential ingredients to becoming a successful pilot is developing situational awareness and the ability to act and react in any situation. That’s why a flight simulator, such as Microsoft flight simulator for PC, provides the techniques, knowledge, and skills necessary to operate an aircraft.
Today, innovative flight simulators such as the DJI flight simulators allow total immersion in a “virtual” experience very close to the real one. Of course, these devices cannot (yet) replace a professional pilot’s school but can inspire a career as an airline pilot and make professionals more aware of their skills and, therefore, more confident.