View Full Version : Flight Experience Sim
mouse_75
31st Dec 2006, 21:21
Hi Everyone,
Slightly OT, but has anyone had a go at the Flight Experience sim? I got a voucher for xmas for the Wellington one and just wondering what others have thought of it.
Cheers and Happy New Year :ok:
Matt.
remoak
1st Jan 2007, 00:32
It's a toy... no control feedback, runs off MS Flight Sim software... it might look like a Boeing, but it isn't in any of the ways that matter. The CAA certified it for the a portion of the IF requirement for a licence, but then they certify virtually anything for that. It isn't certified to any international standards, and NZ has no simulator standard of it's own, it validates FAA or JAA certification. The Flight Experience sims will never be certified to FAA or JAA standards for a variety of reasons. Well, maybe as a procedures trainer, but that's about it.
Good for entertainment perhaps, but that's about it. Enjoy yourself!
Aynayda Pizaqvick
1st Jan 2007, 00:52
Our one at work is an advanced, full motion, direct representation of our fleet and even it will never be certified - why:confused:
Because the JAA inspectors charge a ludicrous amount of money to even look at it let alone certify it!
remoak
1st Jan 2007, 06:22
Really? Who built it? I can't think of any serious full-motion sims that aren't certified, unless it is a one-off. The UK CAA charge under GBP15K for an initial certification, which isn't that much when you consider the cost of developing and building such a sim.
The main certification issue is accuracy. From memory, the sim has to be within 10% of the certified flight test data in all flight parameters. Ask Boeing or Airbus for that data (the only possible source) and you can expect a price tag in excess of US$1 million...
The ersatz data used to program stuff like MS flight sim is not accurate - it is highly generic.
The other minor issue is the legality of using MS flight sim for commercial flight training (or any flight trainnig for that matter), as the licence you agree to when you install it specifically forbids it... I wonder how "Flight Experience" got around that one! There is a reason that other leading hobby flight sim technologies are all now propietary...