Simulators at Lasham since 2003 by Gordon MacDonald

1. Simulators at Lasham since 2003 by Gordon MacDonald

2. The start • The Lasham trust wanted a new project to fund. • They agreed to fund the building of the simulator in late 2003. • Toshiba required corporate entertainment for a gliding competition at Lasham in 2004. • Peter Masson, Shaun Lapworth, Barry Woodhouse and I ran the project.

3. Early decisions • Real cockpit. - Grob 103 available • As wide a screen as possible - 3 projectors • A good sound system. 4 surround speakers • Dedicated room. Previous briefing room • Off the shelf software. X-plane and Silent wings • Realistic flight modelling. • Very low maintenance hardware • Lasham scenery was low priority

4. Thoughts and costs • At this point we were building a corporate entertainment toy. • We would build it and then decide if it was a toy or serious training tool. • Cost £4500 (6000 euros). Simulator Room security, professional upholstery and professional paint job on the simulator exterior was 3000 euros of that price. • Approx 500 volunteer man hours

5. Evolution • Corporate toy great success. • Not taken seriously by many. • At first used for rained off trial flights • Rapidly learned only to let instructors train students. • November 2004, I had time to do some real research and experimentation

6. Proving the illusion • Train a real student, selected at random in the simulator to solo standard. Then put them in a glider and see if they can fly. • The student had no previous flying experience and had completed 1 aerotow trial flight. • He was 31 and a supermarket shop manager

7. Simulator sessions • 10 Friday afternoons of briefing and one hour simulator sessions. • Followed BGA and Lasham syllabus • Was never allowed to crash simulator or break aerotow rope. • Solo in the simulator after 8 hours training. • Flies simulator better than most real glider solo pilots when they have a go. • Ready for the real glider.

8. Glider sessions(K21) • 1st flight. Student flew entire flight. Student found rudder heavier than simulator. Speed control +- 8knots. Landing good • 2nd flight. Coordination now at solo standard. Speed control +- 5knots. Perfect spot landing outside hangar. If this was check flight, he would pass! • 3rd flight. Many weeks later. Stall spin training. Student struggles with stalling sensation. I teach the student loops instead to build confidence. Speed +- 3knots. The student enjoys this hugely. Perfect circuit and landing

9. Day 2 flight traing • 4th flight. Stalling and spin training. Student now loves stalling! Perfect circuit and landing. I was now happy the experiment was a success. But the student wanted to fly solo and the BGA law required 20 landings. • 5th flight. 1h 15m in rotax falke. 15 landings practicing circuit problems, launch failures and 3 very good field landings. Could have soloed falke. • 6th flight. Normal tow. Speed +- 2 knots.

10. 7th ever flight (6 in gliders)

11. Problems this training caused • Student not airfield aware. • Student does not contribute to club flying as has no spare time. • A number of senior members and instructors think this is a dangerous precedent. They do not believe in it. Culture change issues. • The treasurer is worried what this training will do to launch income. • Big debate how much the simulator should cost per hour. Or should it be free? • Students wife had baby and he gave up gliding!

12. Good points • Use of the pause button is brilliant! • Instructor demonstrations combined with interactive briefings massively improves quality of students understanding in minimum time. • A better training environment in all weathers. • Lasham scenery is not important. We only had Minden • At this stage Silent Wings had by far the best flight modelling and runway landing graphics. • Younger instructors and ATPL holders all believe in the simulator.

13. Instructor training • Patter training quality improved. • This time we can allow simulator to crash if trainee instructor does not take over in time! • We can demonstrate dangerous situations like over rotation on winch launch and undershoot. • Massively reduces cost of instructor training. • Higher quality understanding in less time and lower cost.

14. A few thoughts • The most important aspect of simulator flying realistic is the visual illusion with sound. Movement is not very important. • A student trained in a simulator, converting to a glider does not need to be taught to fly. They need differences training, like a type conversion. • Older glider pilots and instructors can take a very long time to convert onto simulator and can get very frustrated by it. Some do not achieve the required skill level. • Young pilots learn much quicker and achieve better competence.

15. Conclusion • Good briefing aid. Fly the exercise in the simulator and then go fly it in the glider. • Lasham pays for instructor training, the simulator has saved Lasham a lot of money. • All weather bookable use. Including evenings. • Training available regardless of weather. • Has proven to be a great marketing tool • Is good for nervous trial flights. • High risk demonstrations now safe. • 1500hours of use. Only failure have been 3 projector bulbs. • Now an accepted part of what Lasham does. • We do not sell simulator only products. We should! • Fraction of the capital and running cost of a new glider. • It is not for everyone however.

16. Still not convinced? • Airlines, helicopter operators and the military have been using simulators for more than 50 years. The gliding world is just waking upto what is obvious and well proven in the rest of the aviation community.