Interior cockpit of a modern flight simulator

A flight simulator is a system that tries to replicate, or simulate, the experience of flying an aircraft as closely and realistically as possible. The different types of flight simulator range from video games up to full-size cockpit replicas mounted on hydraulic (or electromechanical) actuators, controlled by state of the art computer technology. Microsoft Flight Simulator is a flight simulator program for Microsoft Windows, marketed and often seen as a video game. ... Flight Safety International Beech 1900D Simulator, at the Daytona Beach Campus of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. ... Flight Safety International Beech 1900D Simulator, at the Daytona Beach Campus of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. ... This article is about the general term. ... This article concerns the process of flying. ... “Flying Machine” redirects here. ... “Computer and video games” redirects here. ... Hydraulics is a branch of science and engineering concerned with the use of liquids to perform mechanical tasks. ... This article is about the machine. ...

Flight simulators are extensively used by the aviation industry for design and development and for the training of pilots and other flight deck crew in both civil and military aircraft. Look up aviation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Civil in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word Civil is derived from the Latin word civilis, from civis (citizen). Used as an adjective, it may describe several fields, concepts, and people: Civil death Civil defense Civil disobedience Civil engineering Civil law Civil liberties Civil libertarianism Civil marriage Civil...

Engineering flight simulators are also used by aerospace manufacturers for such tasks as:

• development and testing of flight hardware. Simulation (emulation) and sTimulation techniques can be used, the latter being where real hardware is fed artificially-generated or real signals (sTimulated) in order to make it work. Such signals can be electrical, RF, sonar and so forth, depending on the equipment to be tested.
• development and testing of flight software. It is much safer to develop critical flight software on simulators or using simulation techniques, than development using aircraft in flight.
• development and testing of aircraft systems. For electrical, hydraulic and flight control systems, full-size engineering rigs sometimes called 'Iron Birds' are used during the development of the aircraft and its systems.

History

Because powered flight is hazardous to attempt untrained, from the earliest days various schemes were used to enable new pilots to get used to the controls of the plane without actually being airborne. For instance, the Sanders Teacher was a complete aircraft mounted on a universal joint and facing into the wind, able to rotate and tilt freely. Another early flight simulator of about 1910 was built using a section of a barrel mounted on a hoop. For other uses, see Aviator (disambiguation). ... A universal joint A universal joint, U joint, Cardan joint or Hardy-Spicer joint is a joint in a rigid rod that allows the rod to bend in any direction. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Link trainer

A number of electro-mechanical devices were tried during World War I and thereafter. The best-known was the Link Trainer, produced by Edwin Link in the USA and available from 1929. This had a pneumatic motion platform driven by bellows giving pitch, roll and yaw, on which a replica generic cockpit was mounted. It was designed for the teaching of Instrument (cloud) flying in a less hazardous and less expensive environment than the aircraft. After a period where not much interest was shown by professional aviation, the US Army Air Force purchased four Link Trainers in 1934 after a series of fatal accidents in instrument flight. The world flight simulation industry was born. Some 10,000 Link Trainers were used in the 1939-45 war to train new pilots of allied nations. They were still in use in several Air Forces into the 1960s and early 1970s. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 206 KB)Link trainer taken at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho by Tony Speer. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 206 KB)Link trainer taken at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho by Tony Speer. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Link Trainer, or pilot maker was created in the mid-1930s out of the need for a safe way to teach new pilots how to fly IFR. It was created by Edwin Albert Link, who was formerly an Organ builder, used is knowledge of pumps valves and bellows to... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Celestial Navigation Trainer of 1941 was a massive structure 13.7 m (45 ft) high and capable of accommodating an entire bomber crew learning how to fly night missions. In the 1940s, analog computers were used to solve the equations of flight, resulting in the first electronic simulators. For the episode of The West Wing, see Celestial Navigation (The West Wing). ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... For other uses, see Bomber (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A page from the Bombardiers Information File (BIF) that describes the components and controls of the Norden bombsight. ...

In 1948, Curtiss-Wright delivered a trainer for the Stratocruiser to Pan American, the first complete simulator owned by an airline. Although there was no motion modelling or visual display, the entire cockpit and instruments worked, and crews found it very effective. Full motion systems came in starting in the late 1950s. Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Curtiss-Wright Corporation was once a leading aircraft manufacturer of the United States, but has since become a component manufacturer, specializing in actuators, controls, valves, and metal treatment. ... The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was airliner version of the 367 Boeing Stratofreighter, which in turn was the transport version of B-29 Superfortress. ... Pan Ams seaplane terminal at Dinner Key in Miami, Florida, was a hub of inter-American travel during the 1930s and 1940s. ... An Airbus A380 of Emirates Airline An airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ...

A mock-up terrain visual system of the TL39 simulator

The early visual systems used an actual small model of the terrain. A camera was "flown" over the model terrain and the picture displayed to the pilot. The camera responded to pilot control actions and the display changed in response. Naturally only limited areas of the ground were able to be simulated in this manner, usually just the area around an airport or, in military simulators, typical terrain and sometimes targets. The use of digital computers for flight simulation began in the 1960s. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (846x580, 208 KB) Summary The original analog visual system of the TL39 flight simulator. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (846x580, 208 KB) Summary The original analog visual system of the TL39 flight simulator. ... ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

In 1954, General Precision Inc., later part of Singer Corporation, developed a motion simulator which housed a cockpit within a metal framework. It provided 3 degrees (angle) of pitch, roll, and yaw, but by 1964 improved, compact versions increased this to 10 degrees angle. By 1969 airline simulators were developed where hydraulic actuators controlled each axis of motion, and simulators began to be built with six degrees of freedom (roll, pitch, yaw for angular motion and surge, heave and sway for longitudinal, vertical and lateral translation). Starting in 1977, airline simulators began adopting the modern "cab" configuration where computers are placed in the cockpit area (rather than in off-simulator racks), and equipment is accessed via a wraparound catwalk when the simulator motion system is inoperative. Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Singer treadle sewing machine Singer Corporation is a United States of America manufacturer of sewing machines, first established as I.M. Singer & Co. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... In mechanical engineering, aeronautical engineering and robotics, degrees of freedom (DOF) describes flexibility of motion. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ...

Around this time great strides were also made in display technology. In 1972 Singer developed a collimating lens apparatus, using a curved mirror and beamsplitter, which projected Out of The cockpit Window (OTW) views to the pilot at a distant focus. These collimated monitors greatly improved the realism of flight simulation. However, each monitor only offered a field of view of 28 degrees and several were needed for a realistic field of view. In 1976 wider angle collimated monitors (e.g. [1]) were introduced, co-called 'WAC windows' standing for 'Wide Angle Collimated'. Finally, in 1982 the Rediffusion company of Crawley, UK, introduced the Wide-angle Infinity Display Equipment (WIDE) that used a curved mirror of large horizontal extent to allow distant-focus (collimated) viewing by side-by-side pilots in a seamless display. For details, see the entry under 'Collimation@. WIDE-type displays are now universal in the highest levels of Full Flight Simulators for aircraft where two pilots are seated side-by-side. Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A collimating lens is a lens used to gather together a parallel beam of light. ... A mirror, reflecting a vase. ... A beam splitter is an optical device, that splits a beam of light in two. ... The field of view is the part of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Flight Simulators and Flight Training Devices

Various categories of flight simulators and flight training devices are used for pilot training. These vary from relatively simple Part-Task Trainers (PTTs) that cover one or more aircraft systems, Cockpit Procedures Trainers (CPT) for practising drills and checks, to so-called Full Flight Simulators (FFS). The higher levels of Full Flight Simulators have motion platforms capable of moving in all six degrees-of-freedom (6-DoF). They also have wide-angle high-fidelity collimated visual systems for displaying the outside world to the pilots under training (for 'Collimation', see the entry under that name). The simulator cabin containing the replica cockpit and visual system is mounted on a six-jack motion platform that, by moving the platform jacks under computer control, gives the three linear movements and the three rotations that a freely moving body can experience. The three rotations are Pitch (nose up and down), Roll (wing up, the other wing down) and Yaw (nose left and right. The three linear movements have a number of names depending on the area of engineering involved but in simulation they are called Heave (up and down), Sway (sideways left and right) and Surge (longitudinal acceleration and deceleration).

Flight simulators are used to train flight crews in normal and emergency operating procedures. Using simulators, pilots are able to train for situations that are unsafe in the aircraft itself. These situations include engine failures and failures or malfunctions of aircraft systems such as electrics, hydraulics, pressurization, flight instruments and so forth.

National Aviation Authorities (NAA) for civil aircraft such as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), certify each category of simulators and test individual simulators within the approved categories. U.S. commercial pilots can only log required training time in simulators that are certified by the FAA and European pilots in simulators approved by EASA. In order for a simulator to be officially certified, it must be able to demonstrate that its performance matches that of the airplane that is being simulated to the fidelty required by the category of Flight Training Device (FTD) or Full Flight Simulator (FFS) to which it is designed and approved by the regulatory body. The testing requirements are detailed in test guides referred to as an Approval Test Guide (ATG) or Qualification Test Guide (QTG). Simulators are classified as Level 1-7 flight training devices (FTD) or Level A-D full-flight simulators. The highest, most capable device is the Level D Full Flight Simulator. This can be used for so-called Zero Flight Time (ZFT) conversions of already-experienced pilots from one type of aircraft to a type with similar characteristics. In ZFT conversions, no aircraft time is needed and the pilot first flies the aircraft, under close supervision by a Training Captain, on a revenue sortie. “FAA” redirects here. ...

System trainers are used to teach pilots how to operate various aircraft systems. Once pilots become familiar with the aircraft systems, they will transition to cockpit procedures trainers or CPTs. These are fixed-base devices (no motion platform) and are exact replicas of the cockpit instruments, switches and other controls. They are used to train flight crews in checks and drills and are part of a hierarchy of flight training devices (FTD). The higher level FTDs are 'mini simulators'. Some may also be equipped with visual systems. However, FTDs do not have motion platforms and do not have the fidelity of the Full Flight Simulators.

Large Amplitude Multi-mode Aerospace Research Simulator (LAMARS)

A full flight simulator (FFS) duplicates all aspects of the aircraft and its environment, including motion in all six degrees-of-freedom. Personnel in the simulator must wear seat belts as they do in the real aircraft. As the jack travel of any simulator is limited, the motion system employs what is called 'acceleration onset cueing' that simulates initial accelerations well and then backs off the motion below the pilot's sensory threshold so that the jack limits are not exceeded. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x1175, 224 KB) Large Amplitude Multi Mode Aerospace Research Simulator (LAMARS) at en:Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1576x1175, 224 KB) Large Amplitude Multi Mode Aerospace Research Simulator (LAMARS) at en:Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. ...

Manufacturers of civil Full Flight Simulators include FlightSafety International (FSI), Rockwell Collins and Opinicus in the USA, CAE Inc. and Mechtronix in Canada, Thales in France and the UK, the UK site being the ex-Rediffusion simulator factory at Crawley, near Gatwick airport. There are currently about 1200 Full Flight Simulators in operation worldwide, of which about 550 are in the USA, 75 in the UK, 60 in China (PRC), 50 each in Germany and Japan, and 40 in France. Of these, some 450 were made by CAE, mainly in their Montreal factory, about 380 by Thales and its predecessors Rediffusion and Thomson CSF, and about 280 by Flight Safety International. FlightSafety International is the world’s leading provider of professional aviation training, as well as simulation equipment and software. ... Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) is a large United States-based international company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, primarily providing aviation and information technology systems, solutions, and services to governmental agencies and aircraft manufacturers. ... The Opinicus is a fabulous winged creature with the head of an eagle, the body of a lion, and the tail of a camel; a heraldic symbol. ... CAE (TSX: CAE) NYSE: CGT (which once stood for Canadian Aviation Electronics, but now has no official meaning), is a leading provider of simulation technologies and integrated training services to airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and defence customers worldwide. ... Thales of Miletos (, ca. ...

Flight simulators are also extensively used for research in various aerospace subjects, particularly in flight dynamics and man-machine interaction (MMI). Both regular and purpose-built research simulators are employed. They range from the simplest ones, which resemble video games, to very specific and extremely expensive designs such as LAMARS, installed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. This was built by Northrop for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and features a large scale five degrees of freedom motion system to a unique design and a 360 degree dome-mounted visual system. Look up aerospace in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Flight dynamics is the science of air and space vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. ... “Computer and video games” redirects here. ... Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties, adjacent to Riverside, Fairborn, Beavercreek, and Dayton, Ohio. ...

The TL39 3-DoF motion simulator with IOS at MAI University

Most simulators have Instructor Operating Stations (IOS). At the IOS, an instructor can quickly create any normal and abnormal condition in the simulated aircraft or in the simulated external environment. This can range from engine fires, malfunctioning landing gear, electrical faults, storms, downbursts, lightning, oncoming aircraft, slippery runways, navigational system failures and countless other problems which the crew need to be familiar with and act upon. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 2020 KB) Summary An upgraded version of the Czech-made three degree-of-freedom motion flight simulator TL39, installed at en:Moscow Aviation Institute. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 2020 KB) Summary An upgraded version of the Czech-made three degree-of-freedom motion flight simulator TL39, installed at en:Moscow Aviation Institute. ... Named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, the Moscow Aviation Institute is one of several major higher education establishments in Moscow. ...

Many simulators allow the instructor to control the simulator from the cockpit, either from a console behind the pilot's seats, or, in some simulators, from the co-pilot's seat on sorties where a co-pilot is not being trained.

In the past full motion flight simulators had been limited to multi-million dollar hydraulic devices used at large training centers such as those provided by FlightSafety International, CAE, Alteon (a Boeing company) and at the training centres of the larger airlines. Recent advances in electric motion platforms have led to their use in Full Flight Simulators at these and other training centres and also permitted full motion simulation to be provided economically for much smaller aircraft including single-engine piston aircraft at training centers such as Flight Level Aviation. FlightSafety International is the world’s leading provider of professional aviation training, as well as simulation equipment and software. ... CAE can stand for: Critical Art Ensemble CAE, a Canadian manufacturer of flight simulators Computer-aided engineering Common Application Environment Certificate in Advanced English, the fourth level of the Cambridge University exams in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) ([1]) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid... Alteon WebSystems Logo Former logo for Alteon Networks Alteon WebSystems Inc. ... Flight Level Aviation is a provider of advanced or recurrent instrument flight training for pilots of single-engine and multi-engine piston aircraft. ...

Flight simulators are an essential element in individual pilot as well as flight crew training. They save time, money and lives. The cost of operating even an expensive Level D Full Flight Simulator is many times less than if the training was to be on the aircraft itself and a cost ratio of some 1:40 has been reported for Level D simulator training compared to the cost of training in a real Boeing 747 Jumbo aircraft.

Modern High-end flight simulators

High end commercial and military flight simulators incorporate motion bases or platforms to provide cues of real motion. These are important to complement the visual cues (see below) and are vital when visual cues are poor such as at night or in reduced visibility or, in cloud, non-existent. The majority of simulators with motion platfoms use variants of the 6-jack Stewart platform to generate motion cues. These platforms are also known as Hexapods. Stewart used an interlinked array of 6 hydraulic jacks to provide accelerations in all 6 degrees of freedom. Motion bases using modern Stewart-type hexapod platforms can provide about +/- 35 degrees of the three rotations pitch, roll and yaw, and about one metre of the three linear movements heave, sway and surge. An example of Stewart platform Two hexapod positioners. ...

These limited angular and linear movements (or "throws") do not inhibit the realism of motion cueing imparted to the simulator crew. This is because the human sensors of body motion are sensitive to acceleration rather than steady-state movement and a 6-jack platform can produce such initial accelerations in all 6 DoF. The body motion sensors include the vestibular (inner ear, semicircular canals and otoliths), muscle-and joint sensors, and sensors of whole body movements. Furthermore, because acceleration precedes displacement, the human brain senses motion cues before the visual cues that follow. These human motion sensors have low-motion thresholds below which no motion is sensed and this is important to the way that simulator motion platforms are programmed (and also explains why instruments are needs for safe cloud flying). In the real world, after conditioning to the particular environment (in this case aircraft motions), the brain is subconsciously used to receiving a motion cue before noticing the associated change in the visual scene. If motion cues are not present to back up the visual, some disorientation can result ("simulator sickness") due to the cue-mismatch compared to the real world.

In a motion-based simulator, after the initial acceleration, the platform movement is backed off so that the physical limits of the jacks are not exceeded and the jacks are then re-set to the neutral position ready for the next acceleraton cue. The backing-off from the initial acceleration is carred out automatically through the simulator computer and is called the "washout phase". Carefully-designed "washout algorithms" are used to ensure that washout and the later re-set to about neutral is carried out below the human motion thresholds mentioned above and so is not sensed by the simulator crew, who just sense the initial accceleraton. This process is called "acceleration-onset cueing" and fortunately matches the way the sensors of body motion work. This is why aircraft manoeuvre at, say, 300 knots, can be effectively simulated in a replica cabin that itself does not move except in a controlled way through its motion platform. These are the techniques that are used in civil Level D flight smulators and their military counterparts.

AMST Systemtechnik (Austria) and TNO Human Factors (the Netherlands) have built the Desdemona flight simulation system for the Netherlands-based research organisation TNO. This large scale simulator provides unlimited rotation via a gimballed cockpit. The gimbal sub-system is supported by a framework which adds vertical motion. Furthermore, this framework is mounted on a large rotating platform with an adjustable radius. The Desdemona simulator is designed to provide sustainable g-force simulation with unlimited rotational freedom.

NASA's Ames Research Center in "Silicon Valley" south of San Francisco operates the Vertical Motion Simulator. This has a very large-throw motion system with 60 feet (+/- 30 ft) of vertical movement (heave). The heave system supports a horizontal beam on which are mounted rails of length 40 feet, allowing lateral movement of a simulator cab of +/- 20 feet. A conventional 6-degree of freedom hexapod platform is mounted on the 40 ft beam, and an interchangeable cabin is mounted on the hexapod platform. This design permits quick switching of different aircraft cabins. Simulations have ranged from blimps, commercial and military aircraft to the Space Shuttle. In the case of the Space Shuttle, the large Vertical Motion Simulator was used to investigate a longitudinal Pilot-Induced Oscillation (PIO) that occurred on an early Shuttle flight just before landing. After identification of the problem on the VMS, it was used to try different longitudinal control algorithms and recommend the best for use in the Shuttle programme. After this exercise, no similar Shuttle PIO has occurred. The ability to simulate realistic motion cues was considered important in reproducing the PIO and attempts on a non-motion simulator were not successful (a similar pattern exists in simulating the roll-upset accidents to a number of early Boeing 737 aircraft, where a motion-based simulator is needed to replicate the conditions).

Ride Simulators

Flight Simulator technology also exists in themepark, such as in the Disneyland parks and in Universal Studios Theme Parks. They have the purpose of giving the park guests a simulation of flight or motion. Simulator rides are a type of amusement park ride, where the audience is shown a movie while their seats move to correspond to the action on screen. ... For other uses, see Disneyland (disambiguation). ... The current official logo for Universal Studios Theme Parks Universal Studios, the film division of NBC Universal, operates a number of theme parks based around the movies it has produced. ...

Some examples are:

• Soarin' Over California is located in Disney's California Adventure. This uses an Imax dome screen and a hang glider simulation to provide a beautiful simulated flight over many of California's scenic places.
• Star Trek: The Experience is located at the Las Vegas Hilton. Its "Klingon Encounter" culminates with a state of the art 6 degrees-of-freedom flight simulator ride including associated space battle movie footage.
• Back To The Future: The Ride is now closed at both the Florida and Hollywood Universal Studios. The ride used simulator based DeLorean cars and a 70ft tall IMAX dome screen to project footage.

Soarin Over California is a simulator attraction at Disneys California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. ... Disneys California Adventure is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. ... The view from the outside of the Las Vegas Hilton Star Trek: The Experience is a theme park at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, based on the fictional Star Trek universe. ...

Flight simulators at home

Microsoft Flight Simulator X: a modern PC flight simulator

Crude flight simulators were among the first types of programs to be developed for early personal computers. Bruce Artwick's subLOGIC simulators were well-known for the functionality they managed to get onto 8-bit machines. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (900 × 675 pixel, file size: 254 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (900 × 675 pixel, file size: 254 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. ... Microsoft Flight Simulator X (known in the Flight Simulator community also as simply FSX, of which the X is pronounced ten, as in the Roman numeral) is the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator after Flight Simulator 2004. ... The correct title of this article is . ...

A popular type of flight simulator are combat flight simulators, which simulate combat air operations from the pilot and crew's point of view. Combat flight simulation titles are more numerous than civilian flight simulators due to variety of subject matter available and market demand. Combat flight simulators are video games similar to flight simulator software used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. ...

Screenshot from X-Plane, the only one to be certified by the FAA for training purposes

In the early 2000s, even home entertainment flight simulators had become so realistic that after the events of September 11, 2001, some journalists and experts speculated that the hijackers might have gained enough knowledge to steer a passenger airliner from packages such as Microsoft Flight Simulator. Microsoft, while rebutting such criticisms, delayed the release of the 2002 version of its hallmark simulator to delete the World Trade Center from its New York scenery and even supplied a patch to delete the towers retroactively from earlier versions of the sim. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 71 KB) Screenshot of Joseph NoJoe Noés Cessna 208B Caravan near Angra dos Reis during the X-Plane. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 71 KB) Screenshot of Joseph NoJoe Noés Cessna 208B Caravan near Angra dos Reis during the X-Plane. ... X-Plane is a flight simulator for personal computers produced by Laminar Research. ... “FAA” redirects here. ... The 2000s are the current decade, spanning from 2000 to 2009. ... The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... Hijackers inside flightdeck of TWA Flight 847 Aircraft hijacking (also known as skyjacking and aircraft piracy) is the take-over of an aircraft, by a person or group, usually armed. ... Microsoft Flight Simulator is a flight simulator program for Microsoft Windows, marketed and often seen as a video game. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... For other uses, see World Trade Center (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state. ... In computing, a patch is a small piece of software designed to update or fix problems with a computer program or its supporting data. ...

The advent of flight simulators as home video game entertainment has prompted many users to become "airplane designers" for these systems. As such, they may create both military or commercial airline airplanes, and they may even use names of real life airlines, as long as they don't make profits out of their designs. Many other home flight simulator users create their personal, virtual version of their favorite real world airline, and so virtual airlines such as Virtual Delta, Mexicana Virtual, Virtual Aeroflot, Viasa Virtual, UPSVAC[UPS Virtual Air Cargo] , Virtual Air France and so on can be found online. These modifications to a simulation (colloquially known as 'mods') generally add much to a simulation and often grant a significantly expanded playing experience with new situations and content. In some cases, a simulation is taken much further in regards to its features than was intended, or even envisioned by its original developers. Falcon 4.0 is an excellent example of such modification; whole new warzones were added along with the ability to fly hundreds of different aircraft, as opposed to the original single flyable airframe. A virtual airline is an Internet organization dedicated to the hobby of flight simulation. ... Delta Air Lines, Inc. ... Mexicana de Aviación (commonly known by the shorter name Mexicana) is Mexicos second largest airline company, after Aeroméxico, and the worlds third oldest airline still using its original name, after Hollands KLM and Colombias Avianca. ... JSC Aeroflot - Russian Airlines (Russian: ) (MICEX:AFLT RTS:AFLT), or Aeroflot (Russian: ) as the airline is commonly known, is the Russian flag carrier and the largest airline in Russia. ... Viasa was a Venezuelan airline. ... Air France (Compagnie Nationale Air France) is an airline based in Paris, France, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM Group and is the international flag carrier of France. ... Falcon 4. ...

In addition to actually flying in the game, many users have discovered "Online air traffic". This is when virtual pilots and virtual ATCs play together in real time to simulate a true air traffic experience. There are several networks, the most popular ones being VATSIM and IVAO. VATSIM is best for pilots and ATC who like to fly/control in North America and in Great Britain. IVAO is more popular in Europe, Africa and South America. Both networks constantly have from 300 to 900 ATC and pilot connexions, depending on the time of the day. The "rush hours" are from 18:00 to 22:00 GMT time. The Virtual Air Traffic Flight Simulation Network (VATSIM) is a world-wide network for virtual air traffic simulation. ... IVAO, or the International Virtual Aviation Organisation, is an Internet-based flight simulation network. ...

Screenshot from IL-2 Sturmovik, a WWII combat flight simulator

Popular simulators for home computers include: ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 105 KB) A screenshot of a Bf-109 flying in the Crimea in the flight sim Il-2 Sturmovik. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 105 KB) A screenshot of a Bf-109 flying in the Crimea in the flight sim Il-2 Sturmovik. ... IL-2 Sturmovik is a combat flight simulator video game, focused on the air battles of the Eastern Front during World War II. It is named for the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack fighter, which played a prominent role in this theatre. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

• Civilian:
  • Flight Unlimited series of PC simulators
  • FlightGear, a GPL flight simulator with full world scenery and many aircraft models
  • Fly!
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator series, one of the most widely-used civilian flight simulators
  • X-Plane, a multi-platform flight simulator certified by the FAA for training purposes

• Combat:
  • Aces High, combat flight simulator and massively multiplayer online game for the PC
  • Fighter Ace, combat flight simulator and massively multiplayer online game for the PC
  • Falcon 4.0 (and the newer Falcon 4.0: Allied Force), an extremely detailed 'study sim' of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
  • Su-27 Flanker contained a realistic and detailed flight model in a less competitive graphics shell on pc.
  • IL-2 Sturmovik, one of the leading World War II flight simulators
  • Lock On: Modern Air Combat, Jet Combat simulator.
  • Combat Flight Simulator WWII Europe Series, Microsoft's first in its series (of 3) of WWII Aircombat
  • B-17 Flying Fortress, B-17 Bomber simulator in WWII
  • European Air War, a highly rated simulation in the E.T.O. in WWII
  • Gunship, a simulator focusing on the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter
  • Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory,a complex simulation of the Battle of Britain
  • YS Flight Simulation System 2000, a free flight simulator containing both civilian and combat elements

Much rarer but still notable are flight simulators available for various game consoles. The most notable of these were Pilotwings, made available for the Super Nintendo, the sequel Pilotwings 64 for the Nintendo 64 and the Ace Combat series on Playstation 1&2. The very rare Sky Odyssey is yet another example of console flight simulators. Due to the restrictive nature of a game consoles ability to properly simulate environments in general and the processing limitations of these systems in particular, game console-based flight simulators tend to be simplistic and have a more "arcade"-like feel to them. While generally not as complex as PC based sims, console flight simulators can still be enjoyable to play, though their 'simulation' status is disputed by many in the flight simulation community. The Flight Unlimited series of flight simulators for home PC were created by Looking Glass Studios. ... FlightGear is a collaborative project that aims to create a sophisticated free flight simulator framework. ... The GNU logo The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a widely-used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU project. ... Fly! is a flight simulator for PC and Apple Macintosh computers developed by Terminal Reality and published by Gathering of Developers. ... Microsoft Flight Simulator is a flight simulator program for Microsoft Windows, marketed and often seen as a video game. ... X-Plane is a flight simulator for personal computers produced by Laminar Research. ... “FAA” redirects here. ... Combat flight simulators are video games similar to flight simulator software used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. ... Aces High is a combat flight simulator and massively multiplayer online game for the PC. It was created by HiTech Creations and released on May 8, 2000. ... Fighter Ace is an online multiplayer computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots. ... Falcon 4. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American multirole jet fighter aircraft developed by General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin for the United States Air Force. ... Su-27 Flanker is a realistic flight simulator released for the PC (DOS and Microsoft Windows) in 1996 on CD. Developed in Russia by Eagle Dynamics and published by SSI, Su-27 Flanker contained a realistic and detailed flight model in a less competitive graphics shell, allowing the simulation to... IL-2 Sturmovik is a combat flight simulator video game, focused on the air battles of the Eastern Front during World War II. It is named for the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack fighter, which played a prominent role in this theatre. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combat Flight Simulator WWII Europe Series is the first version of combat flight simulators from Microsoft Game Studios, released in 1998. ... B-17 Flying Fortress or the software titles full name B-17 Flying Fortress World War II Bombers in Action TM is a video game of the combat flight simulation/computer role playing game genre released in 1992 for DOS on the IBM PC compatible personal computer by MicroProse. ... European Air War is a combat flight simulation created by MicroProse in 1998. ... Gunship is an AH-64 Apache helicopter simulation that was released by Microprose in 1986. ... The AH-64 Apache is the United States Armys principal attack helicopter, and is the successor to the AH-1 Cobra. ... YS Flight Simulation System 2000 is a freeware flight simulation programmed by Soji Yamakawa, a staff member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University. ... The Nintendo GameCube is an example of a popular video game console. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. ... Pilotwings 64 is a video game for the Nintendo 64, released in 1996, along with the launch of the console. ... The Nintendo 64 ), often abbreviated as N64, was Nintendos third home video game console for the international market. ... This article is about the video games series. ... Sky Odyssey is an action/adventure flight simulator for the SonyPlayStation 2. ...

Homebuilt Cockpits (Simpits)

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with simpit. (Discuss)

Often referred to as Simpits, home cockpit building is a common hobby among simulator pilots. Simpits range in complexity from a single computer, with some effort to create a permanent area for simulation, through to complete cockpit reconstruction projects utilizing multiple systems. The growth in home cockpit complexity and realism has been further fueled by the opening up of the simulation software packages with published SDK's (Software Development Kits) now common. Image File history File links Merge-arrows. ... Simulation cockpits or simpits are environments designed to replicate an aircraft cockpit for use with home flight simulators. ... A Software Development Kit, or SDK for short, is typically a set of development tools that allows a software engineer to create applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, operating system or similar. ...

Examples of generic add in hardware for simple home simulators

The push for higher realism in desktop simulation, often fueled by real pilots looking to practice cheaply at home, has led to a wide array of suppliers growing up to satisfy the demand. Hardware is available from a variety of commercial sources ranging from yokes, throttles and pedals, through to radios, lights and complete instruments. This home use hardware is not certified for flight training, so the hours spent practicing in the simpit will not count towards a pilots license. However it is widely utilized as a un-official training aid, allowing realistic procedures practice, as well as the opportunity to complete visual or IMC approaches prior to a real world flight. This can help make a pilot's real-world flight time safer and more productive. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 583 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (800 × 822 pixel, file size: 79 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Selection of mid price range controllers for flight simulator use. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 583 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (800 × 822 pixel, file size: 79 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Selection of mid price range controllers for flight simulator use. ...

For those wishing more than a desktop simulator, replica panels are commercially available mimicking those found in a modern airliners such as a Boeing or Airbus. These panels will either fit into a real cockpit section, which some large scale home simulators are built into, or will be mounted in a home constructed cockpit frame, normally made from wood. With most modern airliners now using Glass Cockpit type displays it is relatively simple to replicate the displays in software, outputting them via multi head graphics cards or networked PC's to cheaply available LCD monitors mounted behind the panel. To the casual observer it can be hard to tell a home built static simulator and a commercial one apart.

Where commercial panels or controls do not exist, simulator builders will often create their own out of wood or similar easily worked materials. Another common route for sourcing the specific hardware needed in a simulator, and one used by the commercial sector as well, is to obtain a real component and convert it for PC input. Interface hardware for these home-made controls is directly available from commercial suppliers, or can be obtained by dismantling cheap joysticks or similar components and rewiring them. Some home builds will even incorporate motion platforms, although unlike commercial simulators these are normally more limited in motion, and normally rely on electrical motors as opposed to hydraulics.

Beyond the hardware of home cockpits, software such as FSX can simulate modern aircraft systems to a very high standard in addition to the basic flight dynamics. Providing accurate recreations of the FMC (Flight Management Computer), Autopilot, and engine management systems among others. With additional hardware and add in software this is extended even further. For example into a fully functional overhead / engineering panel requiring real world check lists to be followed for engine startup and flight with a full flight deck crew.

Space flight simulators

Main article: Space flight simulator

As space is a natural extension of airspace, space flight simulators may be treated as an extension of flight simulators' genre. There is a considerable interdependence between those two kinds of simulators, as some flight simulators feature spacecraft as an extension and the other hand some space flight simulators may feature a pretty realistic atmospheric flight simulation engine. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Space simulation. ... Space has been an interest for philosophers and scientists for much of human history. ... Airspace means the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a particular country on top of its territory and territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Space simulation. ... The Space Shuttle Discovery as seen from the International Space Station. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Space simulation. ...

Screenshot from Orbiter, a freeware space flight simulator

Popular space flight simulators for home computers include: Download high resolution version (900x720, 33 KB)Screenshot of a Space Shuttle lifting-off from cape canaveral in Orbiter. ... Download high resolution version (900x720, 33 KB)Screenshot of a Space Shuttle lifting-off from cape canaveral in Orbiter. ... Orbiter is a closed source freeware space flight simulator for the Windows operating system. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Space simulation. ...

• Microsoft Space Simulator
• Orbiter, a freeware space flight simulator
• X-Plane, also includes a Space Shuttle and Mars flight simulators

Microsoft Space Simulator is a space flight simulator program for MS-DOS/Microsoft Windows. ... Orbiter is a closed source freeware space flight simulator for the Windows operating system. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Space simulation. ... X-Plane is a flight simulator for personal computers produced by Laminar Research. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Flight simulators

• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• X-Plane
• FlightGear
• Space flight simulator
  • Orbiter
• Virtual Airline
• International Virtual Aviation Organisation
• VATSIM

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Microsoft Flight Simulator is a flight simulator program for Microsoft Windows, marketed and often seen as a video game. ... X-Plane is a flight simulator for personal computers produced by Laminar Research. ... FlightGear is a collaborative project that aims to create a sophisticated free flight simulator framework. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Space simulation. ... Orbiter is a closed source freeware space flight simulator for the Windows operating system. ... A virtual airline is an Internet organization dedicated to the hobby of flight simulation. ... IVAO, or the International Virtual Aviation Organisation, is an Internet-based flight simulation network. ... The Virtual Air Traffic Flight Simulation Network (VATSIM) is a world-wide network for virtual air traffic simulation. ...

External links

• Black Magic and Gremlins: Analog Flight Simulations at NASA's Flight Research Center by Gene L. Waltman
• The Art of Flight Simulation (Aersopace MEng Thesis on Flight Simulation)
• Keynoise Sportstar Simulator: one of the very few online flight simulators
• Example of a homebuilt full motion simulator
• Flight Training Devices for General Aviation Aircraft