For 'PhillipG' about F-35 FMS accuracy this quote (and there are many others including test pilot quotes) should suffice... [now I see there is some 'hiccup' about simulating arrests onboard in an F-35C sim?] BAE in WHACKworth, UK, or where ever, was simulating these things during the 'cats n'flaps' era but now is back to SRVLing nicely. A great deal of effort has gone into making the F-35C easy to deck land - with JPALS an individual arrest wire can be targeted for automatic landings. Plus there has been work on making the control/control surfaces make more effective timely adjustments for better glideslope control at Opt AoA. The hook is under development whilst the interim hook changes have proved successful.
Lockheed Martin Delivers First F-35 Full Mission Simulator to Eglin Air Force Base
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/p...11JSF-FMS.html
"..."JSF training technology brings a revolutionary new capability to the joint services," said Col. Arthur Tomassetti, 33rd Fighter Wing Vice Commander. "The smooth surface, high-resolution dome is a dramatic improvement over legacy fighter simulators. The high visual acuity and
utilization of a significant amount of real aircraft parts and source code will allow us to train a wide variety of mission tasks previously not accomplished in simulators. The F-35 FMS [Full Mission Simulator] will be our primary pilot training device, and we are anxious to start putting it to good use."
In all F-35 simulators, actual aircraft software is used to give pilots the most realistic experience and allow software upgrades in step with the F-35 development...."
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Director, Operational Test and Evaluation | F-35A Joint Strike Fighter
Readiness for Training Operational Utility Evaluation Feb 2013
http://pogoarchives.org/straus/ote-i...o-20130215.pdf
“...Full Mission Simulators (FMS) are excellent; however, some deficiencies were noted with minor impacts on training.
The Full Mission Simulator (FMS) environment, including the contractor instructors and instructor workstations, was effective in training the students in the syllabus events and preparing them for flight, although correction of minor deficiencies would improve training effectiveness.
Comments from the pilots and observations indicated that the simulator was an excellent training device, with higher fidelity than simulators used for training in legacy fighter aircraft. One of the four primary student pilots stated that it was “one of the best parts of the whole program.” However, the following three issues with the simulator training were identified by the student pilots, which adversely affected the effectiveness of the simulator....
...During end-of-course interviews, each student pilot stated that the simulators adequately prepared them for the flying training portion of the syllabus....”
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Eglin’s F-35 flight simulators integral part of pilot training By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE 16 Feb 2013
Eglin?s F-35 flight simulators integral part of pilot training (VIDEO) - Top Story - Northwest Florida Daily News
"...The rooms that house Eglin’s four simulators are classified and not open to the public or the media. Lockheed Martin, the company that produces them, declined to disclose its dimensions, the specifications of the computer system that runs it or the cost. Representatives said the information was sensitive, technical data.
The pilots who have used the simulators, though, testified to their staggering size and scope while in a classroom at Eglin recently.
They compared using the simulators to going on a theme park ride or hopping aboard the Battlestar Galactica —
the pilot is immersed in another world. The pilots said they are an invaluable tool in learning to fly the military’s newest fighter jet.
“I’m positive I’m not the only pilot in this room that has forgotten he is in a simulator,” said Marine Maj. Michael Rountree, one of the first certified F-35 pilots and an instructor at the school.
“You don’t even remember that you’re not moving. The way things move around you in that 360-degree globe, it feels like you’re flying and you just forget.”...
...Another groundbreaking aspect of the simulator is how dynamic it is. Instructors sit at a control consul outside and manipulate a host of conditions, from the environment to how the plane is functioning, Wilder said. An instructor can make the simulator mimic different malfunctions or emergencies until the student learns how to respond correctly so the jet can be landed safely....
...The simulator also can allow pilots to practice refueling in the air, landing on an aircraft carrier, evading missile fire from other aircraft or the ground and flying in formation.
Two simulators also can link together. Pilots in one will see when the pilot in the other lowers his landing gear....
...Wilder, who was an F-16 pilot in the Air Force for 16 years before moving to Lockheed to develop the F-35, said no simulator he’s ever seen has offered that level of detail.
“That’s Disney World kind of stuff,” he said. “You just don’t do that in military simulators anywhere to that kind of fidelity, but that’s the detail they’ve gone with us. That’s amazing to me.”..."