Aviation Training

Aviation - Training By John Catech

An airplane's control panel as well as a variety of landscapes is simulated so that the trainees can learn how to operate a plane while in flight. Despite the fact that they are still grounded, the students are trained at:

• basic maneuvering of an airplane
• cockpit controls and operation
• navigation of the aircraft

The primary focus of flight simulation training is not so much teaching the student how to fly as it is teaching them how to react and handle potential problem scenarios, as well as how to get out of any trouble that results from being confronted with such. The student gets exposed to simulated hazardous weather conditions, unfriendly landing terrain, as well as other emergency situations in order to teach them how to react and to apply quick emergency operations.

The basic difference between flight simulation training for the commercial pilot versus a military pilot is that the commercial pilot is only exposed to different runways, a variety of terrains, and adverse weather conditions. However, the military pilot is exposed to various base landscapes and a variety of engagements with enemy aircraft in simulated fighter pilot experiences.

Early flight simulation training goes back to 1910 when the Sanders Teacher was used to train pilots of the day. The Sanders teacher was actually an entire airplane which was mounted on a universal joint that was faced into oncoming winds, and was able to rotate and tilt as the wind affected it. Another flight simulation training device that was also used at the time, though it was crude and rudimentary at best, was a barrel section that was mounted on a hoop.

However, it was Ed Link who was bestowed with the title of the "Father of Flight Simulation" because he invented and developed a ground-based flight training device called the "Pilot Maker", which was patented in April of 1929. Link, was working for his father at the Link Piano and Organ Factory in Binghamton, NY in 1927 when he started wondering if he could design and create a device that would train pilots in the skills needed for safe flight.

Despite Link's pioneering of the technology in the 1920's and 1930's, it wasn't until the 1980's when computerized flight simulation training became a reality. It was about this point in history where personal computer devices were being developed along with a variety of video game consoles.

In computer based flight simulation training, students have access to all the supplies necessary to a real flight experience. Additionally, they can enroll in the pilot training course (for an affordable price). The course is designed to simulate all types of situations that are encountered while the airplane is in flight. Between the actual course training and the supplies that are provided, the student is afforded an experience that resembles real flight.