Simulation & Models : Flight Simulator

Simulation & Models : Flight Simulator

Flight simulators are computerised models which simulate what it is like for a pilot to fly an aircraft. They are used to train pilots to fly real aircraft. Pilots train in simulators rather than in real aircraft because :

Safety	It is safer to use a smiluator than to fly a real aircraft. Any errors will only result in simulated accidents, not real ones. This is particularly important when training new pilots as they are more likely to make mistakes.
Cost	It is cheaper to use a simulator than to fly a real aircraft. Fuel does not have to be paid for and if an accident occurs no real damage has to be repaired.
Situations	Different situations can be easily tried out in a simulator. For example a pilot can train to fly in different types of weather or to land at different airports by simply changing the setup of the simulator.

A flight simulator is designed to train a pilot to fly a particular aircraft as although the principles of flying are the same for all aircraft, the layout of the instruments in the cockpit and the detailed method of controlling an aircraft will vary from one plane to another.

Input and Output Devices

Specialised input and output devices are used in a flight simulator. The flight simulator will be built within a module that is the same size as a real aircraft cockpit. The cockpit controls and displays will exactly duplicate those in the real aircraft. Very large VDUs are used to simulate the view that the pilot would see from the cockpit and hydraulic pistons are used to move the simulator module so that the pilot will feel motion similar to that in a real aircraft.

Rules and Variables

As with any other simulation, a flight simulator will be controlled by rules and variables. A real flight simulator will make use of tens of thousands of rules and variables. Some examples of these are :

Example Variables	Example Rules
Direction of travel of aircraft (heading). Altitude (height) of the aircraft. Speed of the aircraft. Wind direction and speed. Weight of the aircraft.	If the throttle is opened then the engine speed will increase. If the engine speed is too low then the engines will stall (stop) and the emergency buzzer should be sounded. The heavier the aircraft the faster the plane must travel before it will take off.

After The Simulator

After a commercial airline pilot has been trained in a simulator he will be expected to make many flights without passengers before he is allowed to fly an aircraft with passengers onboard. This is because :

The flight simulator may not copy accurately every situation that the pilot could encounter.
The pilot may react differently when flying a real aircraft than when he knows he is flying a simulator.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004