Simulators get real
By David Learmount on 20 July, 2011 in Uncategorised
Cathay Pacific has just become the first customer airline for a revolutionary new simulator motion system that will transform what simulators can be used for.
Even full flight simulators (FFS), at present, are really just sophisticated procedure and systems trainers, although the aviation authorities pretend they can be beneficial to manual flying skills. But US FAA research says there is no evidence that manual flying skills can be taught in simulators - the skills simply do not transfer to the real aeroplane.
Well, my first, off-the-cuff response would be a resounding “HOG WASH!” After taking a breath, I would collect my thoughts and concede that there may be some who would argue (however, I believe, not successfully) that I’ve been living under a rock for the last 45 years – or in some kind of “dream world,” but the fact is that until today, I was completely unaware of Mr. Learmount … and after reading this kind of comment, I’m prone to go back to my “completely unaware” state regarding this particular individual, or at least believe the same comment about his last 45 years. The comment about the “US FAA research” that he referenced is totally unfamiliar to me and because of when, where, and how, I was personally involved with this industry during that same time period, I would immediately categorize that statement as completely false. I say this due to the fact that if there were any such research actually conducted by the US FAA, I am supremely confident that I would have been integrally knowledgeable ABOUT, and very likely involved IN, any, no,
every aspect of such research. With this knowledge, I would place this statement right up there with someone claiming that the late Neil Armstrong, the first man-on-the-moon, actually said “…the moon is, indeed, made of cheese.”
Any person knowledgeable about the US FAA’s position with respect to simulation, would be acutely aware of a rather extensive research effort, of some 2 – 3 years duration, under the auspices of something called the “Advanced Simulation Plan,” AND the conclusion reached from that research … which was the publication of 14CFR Part 121, Appendix H, in the summer of 1980, that allowed the use of a specifically qualified Flight Simulator to be used as follows:
Level D Flight Simulator - Training and Checking Permitted: Except for the requirements listed in the next sentence, all pilot flight training and checking required by this part and the certification check requirements of §61.153(h) of this chapter. (my emphasis underlined) The line check required by §121.440, the static airplane requirements of appendix E of this part, and the operating experience requirements of §121.434 must still be performed in the airplane.
We can have diligent discussions about where simulation came from and where it is headed – we can discuss the shortcomings and the positive assistance proper use of simulation actually provides to the successful completion of pilot training … but to state that the skills learned in a simulator do not transfer to the airplane is patently baseless and, dare I say, prejudiced against the use of a very valuable and a very successfully demonstrated training and checking tool. In fact, I am concerned about just how successful the transfer is from simulator to airplane, when some individuals are prone to use what I call “cheat-sheet” numbers or methods that were devised to “get through” a simulator check, and the use of that devised process may not be appropriate when operating the airplane. BUT – and I hasten to add the same caveat that I’ve regularly offered on this forum, and that is that the instructor or evaluator MUST be trained and able to competently and correctly use the specific simulator (including all of that particular simulator’s capabilities and limitations) and that instructor/evaluator remains personally and professionally involved in what is being trained and/or evaluated in that simulator.