A flight simulator is a device or software that artificially recreates flight and the environment in which an aircraft flies. A simulator can be used for pilot training or during the process of designing a new aircraft. Flight simulators replicate the equations and laws that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to any input on the aircraft controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc. Flight simulation is used for a variety of reasons, including flight training (mainly of pilots), the design and development of the aircraft itself, and research into aircraft characteristics and control handling qualities. There are countless advantages to incorporating simulation into your flight training program.
Simulation is the future of flight training; there are so many advantages you can gain from utilising this technology right now.
1. Mindful of the Environment
Most aircraft nowadays are very fuel efficient, but they still emit fumes and gases into the atmosphere like most other forms of transport. Flight simulators will decrease the carbon footprint while you practice for hours without emitting any air or noise pollution into the atmosphere. With the present climate change situation, this is a small change that we can all feel good about.
Aircraft require large amounts of AVGAS/Jet A1 (in other words, fuel) and maintenance (replacement of aircraft parts, oil etc.) to keep them running in pristine condition, this is costly, and then we have the aircraft's insurance to add to that, and excess insurance that is required to protect you in the event of an emergency. By jumping into a flight simulator, you "fly" right over all of these hurdles. You can also reduce the number of airborne lessons you need because you can master your moves on the ground first. Some pilots don’t agree with this philosophy, although simulation does aid as a beginner to sharpen your skills and technique, it all tallys up to some hard-earned savings to make your flight training much more affordable and accessible.
The default installation allows you to hop into one of more than several different aircraft. It’s an engineering tool that can be used to predict the flying characteristics of an aircraft with incredible accuracy. When you start flight training, you need to learn a wide range of procedures such as climbing, descending, flying straight, turning, taxiing and how to recover from a spin, spiral dive and a stall. As the size, position and functionality of the instruments in most flight simulators are exact replicas of those you would find in a real aircraft, you can prepare for procedures before hopping into the real plane. You can also practice on the simulator between lessons to hone your skills. This speeds up your training process significantly as you just need to apply what you’ve learnt when you jump into the real aircraft and can move onto more advanced flight lessons much faster.
It allows you to hop in and explore the globe to your heart's content,
Flight simulators display visuals of a range of real locations and airports from around the globe. It would be impossible to practice flying over the Himalayas Mountains when you’re based in Johannesburg, or from London to Los Angeles and beyond, but flight simulators make this possible. Visit areas and airports you have never visited before. Simulators keep training fresh and exciting, while also showing you how many amazing experiences lay ahead, within your reach when you obtain your pilot licence.
5. Be Prepared
Flight Simulators are incredibly detailed, with little touches factored in such as detailed weather modeling and the potential for system failures. Nearly every component of a plane can fail randomly, which, while frustrating, helps create a more realistic simulation experience. Practising emergency situations is a vital part of your pilot training, but it’s hard to do this in an authentic way when you’re in the air when your well-being is highly likely to be at risk. Simulation allows you to practise your response time and techniques to challenging weather conditions and system failures while keeping both you and your instructor safe. This allows you to develop the range of complex risk assessment and management skills you need to be a great pilot.
6. Log Additional Flight Hours
You are also allowed to log the time spent in a flight simulators provided that the flight simulator used is approved for training by the aviation authority in your country, however, during training in most cases you are only allowed to log up to a certain amount of your simulator time towards your total time but do not let this discourage you from using a flight simulator to hone down your procedures and flying skills, it very well may be the difference between getting something on a first attempt in the real aircraft or having to do it again.
Flight schools use different types of flight simulators from different manufactures from all around the world, however, they all serve the main purpose of recreating the miracle that is, flight, and so all of them are very accurate for training purposes.
Please subscribe to this blog and my YouTube Channel.
rikathepilot@blogspot.com
✈️ Up up and away Rika! Interesting and informative read.
ReplyDelete💐
ReplyDelete