How Is Your Simulator ?
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 967
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From: 30 West
How Is Your Simulator ?
So, there is a large Bus simulator in the North West that flies like a pig, needs extra trim to take off correctly, has been giving the wrong noises for Master Cautions this week and doesn't like windshear - I never thought I would see an Airbus in an inverted spin !
Anyone else flown a sim so bad recently
Edit, Hic !
Anyone else flown a sim so bad recently
Edit, Hic !
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 204
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From: Oz
Well i must say that ours is pretty good but:
1) landing it is like landing a flying pig on an ice rink
2) the elevator control loading is pretty much non existent and as such everyone tends to over control in pitch
3) the wx radar is hopeless
Other than that its pretty darn good
1) landing it is like landing a flying pig on an ice rink
2) the elevator control loading is pretty much non existent and as such everyone tends to over control in pitch
3) the wx radar is hopeless
Other than that its pretty darn good
Sims Fly Virtually
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Used to be 3rd Sand Dune from the Left - But now I'm somewhere else somewhere else.
That's nothing!
You should have tried some of the early ones that I worked on. The only motion axis was pitch, the visual was a model in a large room with a camera that motored over it, and the "computing power" was another large room full of valve ("vacuum tube") electronics that failed with great regularity!
(707 at BA LHR)
(707 at BA LHR)
Supercalifragilistic
expialidocious
expialidocious
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: Essex, UK
If you don't like it build one yourself...
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Burgess Hill
My company also builds large Bus simulators. A recent customer down under was v. complimentary on the handling qualities of our product . I suspect the one in the North West is a product of the Carelessly Assembled Electronics company based the East of Canada.
Joined: Sep 2001
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
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From: Toronto
I spent considerable time in a 2-axis, no visual Viscount simulator in Toronto handed down from Air Canada to the local school board.
The "computer" was a 7' x 15' wall of gears, chains, levers and other gizmos on both sides.
Crashes often resulted in chains jumping sprockets.
The nosewheel steering linkage broke when landing with a 50 kt. crosswind dialled in and remained unrepaired during the years I was using it.
Subsequent takeoffs had the beast chasing its tail until some 50 kt. was achieved. Throttling back an outer did not work as no acceleration was possible from 0 kt without all 4.
The ILS only showed up once -- with a glideslope angle of zero degrees.
No VOR/LOC.
Cross the NDB, put in a 45 degree correction for 20 seconds or so, take it off and you were on track
Don't try that in the air.
And it was easier to fly on 3 than 4.
The "computer" was a 7' x 15' wall of gears, chains, levers and other gizmos on both sides.
Crashes often resulted in chains jumping sprockets.
The nosewheel steering linkage broke when landing with a 50 kt. crosswind dialled in and remained unrepaired during the years I was using it.
Subsequent takeoffs had the beast chasing its tail until some 50 kt. was achieved. Throttling back an outer did not work as no acceleration was possible from 0 kt without all 4.
The ILS only showed up once -- with a glideslope angle of zero degrees.
No VOR/LOC.
Cross the NDB, put in a 45 degree correction for 20 seconds or so, take it off and you were on track
Don't try that in the air.And it was easier to fly on 3 than 4.
Joined: Aug 2003
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From: Skagness on the beach
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Texas, USA
Once saw a great show on telly (OU ?) about a Jaguar(??) sim, where the visuals were from flying a camera over a model ... it was pretty hilarious really, especially when one of the pilots described what happened when a few flies got into the model. With the scale of the model, the flies looked about 50 foot high, and ... "...could give you a nasty turn..." !!!!!!! 
Sims Fly Virtually
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Used to be 3rd Sand Dune from the Left - But now I'm somewhere else somewhere else.
Kabz,
That was another of the ones that I worked on - in a ex-railway-carriage-shed in the South of England, before it went to be delivered to the RAF
Earlier, I worked on a "fighting vehicle" simulator where the visual was similar and the tank driver saw it thru the periscope. Great fun was had by all, putting spiders on the road just around the corner from where the "student" was driving
(later, when working for BA, I also did a training course with the "East of Canada" company
)
That was another of the ones that I worked on - in a ex-railway-carriage-shed in the South of England, before it went to be delivered to the RAF
Earlier, I worked on a "fighting vehicle" simulator where the visual was similar and the tank driver saw it thru the periscope. Great fun was had by all, putting spiders on the road just around the corner from where the "student" was driving
(later, when working for BA, I also did a training course with the "East of Canada" company
)
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,450
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From: UK
On the Jag sim at Coltishall the simulator technicians use to drop model dinosaurs on to the map table. So, there you were on the way to drop buckets of love eastwards and you'd come beak to beak with tyrannosaurus rex!
Sims Fly Virtually
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Used to be 3rd Sand Dune from the Left - But now I'm somewhere else somewhere else.
I remember the Yanks taking over (they called it a "merger" at the time yeah, sure ) then the Frogs took them over
) then the Frogs took them over
ENTREPPRUNEUR
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: The 60s
So how old are you, Maximum?
They were still using thes at AST Perth when I was doing my CPL/IR
...but they didn't choose me.
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 1,995
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From: UK
Ahhhhhhh!! the Link trainer 
The Link was one of the first 'simulators' available for instrument training. The operating part was a crude plywood box containing a single engined cockpit with basic controls and instrumentation - the exterior was 'enhanced' with a miniature fin and tailplane. It was mounted on a three axis motion base, pneumatically powered and its gyrations were translated into a two axis output for a 'crab' mechanical plotter to trace the route flown. It (of course) had no visual but served as an introduction to 'under the hood' flying. Have spent an hour or three in various installations but its greatest period of attraction for me was in Aden where it was in the only air conditioned building on the base
This leads to a question to test your 'anorak' status .....
What was the Link motion system derived from???......
No prizes by the way
The Link was one of the first 'simulators' available for instrument training. The operating part was a crude plywood box containing a single engined cockpit with basic controls and instrumentation - the exterior was 'enhanced' with a miniature fin and tailplane. It was mounted on a three axis motion base, pneumatically powered and its gyrations were translated into a two axis output for a 'crab' mechanical plotter to trace the route flown. It (of course) had no visual but served as an introduction to 'under the hood' flying. Have spent an hour or three in various installations but its greatest period of attraction for me was in Aden where it was in the only air conditioned building on the base
This leads to a question to test your 'anorak' status .....
What was the Link motion system derived from???......
No prizes by the way