Flight Simulators and the News

Sept. 9, 2010
Last week the newspaper USA Today ran an article citing recent NTSB reports regarding the use of simulators for pilot training. In short the article says there are flaws in simulator training for pilots, and these flaws have attributed to aircraft or specifically airline accidents. As we all know simulators are a key component in training flight crews and in many cases they also provide essential training to aircraft maintenance technicians. Cockpit equipment familiarization, and tasks such as engine run and aircraft taxi and movement training, are examples where full-flight simulators are used to train technicians. Three days after the above mentioned article was published I found myself visiting CAE at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. CAE manufactures flight simulators and also offers pilot, maintenance and flight crew training. The DFW CAE facility is the largest corporate aviation training center in the world and a very impressive facility. One of the items I was provided was a demonstration of the CAE Professional Troubleshooting Skills (PTS) training program, which is one of the many technical training courses offered by CAE. The PTS is a computer-based training course providing theory in troubleshooting practices for a variety of potential aircraft system failures. I liked it. The core of training for aircraft maintenance technicians does not involve the same level of simulator use as pilot training. Many technical people will argue that nothing compares to hands-on technical training. However, the use of simulation and modeling technologies is widely used today in maintenance training. Technology is here to stay and I believe that technical training has benefitted from the use of modern technology. How do you feel about this subject? How has simulation and 3-D modeling impacted the technical training that you have received? Keep ‘em flying guys, Ron