Shaking Up the Flight Sim Sector

A significant, sometimes overlooked development in the evolution of flight simulation platforms is the enhanced subsystems – the building blocks – from instructor operator stations to motion systems. Group Editor Marty Kauchak surveys trends and developments for some components comprising FSTDs.

The flight simulation training device market space is on a trajectory to have ever-more-capable and efficient products and support services well beyond this decade. The technology underpinnings of these devices – the subsystems – are meeting, and in some cases, staying ahead of, stringent regulatory and end-user requirements. At the same time, suppliers are strengthening their products’ other lifecycle attributes, increasing the business case to invest in new or upgraded legacy systems.

Beyond a ‘Sterile Place’

The instructor operating station (IOS) has been seen “as a ‘sterile place’ to insert commands into a machine,” candidly noted Thomas Hörhan, Head of Project Management and Quality Management, AXIS Flight Training Systems. “Generations of instructors were struggling to find buttons on fiddly touch screens. Commands were well hidden by engineers in a complex menu structure to fulfill requirements. Instructors could be observing trainee performance and shouting instructions while being strapped to a sturdy chair with hardly any suspension or adjustment – with aircraft engine noise roaring and the full-motion simulator shaking while role-playing air traffic control.” An important part of the AXIS product portfolio is allowing ATOs to move beyond that standard by providing their training audiences with new IOSs pushing the technology envelope.

The latest AXIS IOS architecture reveals a forward-facing, electrically movable, highly ergonomic IOS equipped with two horizontal 20in (.5m) 16:9 full-HD touchscreen displays, with the graphical user interface minimizing instructor workload during training sessions. No keyboard or old-fashioned input controls are present, with the product being “simple to operate and easy to configure to specific preferences,” the company notes.

The innovation of the fully integrated design of the IOS puts control of the training session and all other systems at the instructor’s fingertips, including motion, visual, oxygen, audio and air conditioning. Further, the online session planning tool is reported to “make session planning dramatically easier. Several hundred malfunctions are implemented on the AXIS FFS, including an extremely realistic simulation of flight in icing conditions.” The IOS’s capabilities also allow operators to meet the latest community training imperatives. For UPRT, there is a dedicated menu on the IOS with preconfigured scenarios.

Entire Lifecycle Focus

Tobe Ehmann, Business Development Manager, Simulation, Moog, told CAT the current trends are to reduce cost and make motion systems easier to use and maintain. “In terms of cost, Moog is going beyond the purchase cost of the system itself. Moog’s Gen 3 system has a lower cost of operation (energy), is less costly to maintain, and takes up less floor space than our previous systems,” Ehmann said. The motion expert added, most customers are not willing to pay for performance in excess of level D, “so Moog has focused on making the system more energy efficient. Through the use of super capacitors, we have reduced the installation cost by minimizing the peak power demand from the system. We have also made the system easier to maintain with our new snubber that can be repaired with off-the-shelf shock absorbers without having to be removed from the system.”

S&T suppliers are broadening their focus to strengthen their products’ entire lifecycle, as in the case of Moog's Gen 3 system, which has a lower cost of operation (energy) and other attributes. Image credit: Moog.

Similarly, Richard Layfield, Senior Manager of Sales & Business Development, Collins Aerospace, observed that as airlines return to full capacity his team is working with them to find solutions that not only fit their technical and training requirements, but budget as well. “We have seen an increase in upgrades to existing systems, particularly the projection systems, as operators look to extend the life of their training assets and benefit from the drop-in replacements on offer from Collins for the ‘lifed’ COTS elements of our systems.” Collins is also able to build obsolescence protection into its new systems, such that many parts are “backwards compatible” – allowing them to be configured to support older in-service units and helping to keep the simulators operational for much longer periods.

Beyond its lifecycle-wide focus, one clear “demand signal” to which Collins Aerospace is responding, from current and prospective customers, is for better resolution and a wider choice of destination airfields that they fly into. Collins has the ability to add databases of airfields, and an extensive library which its customers can access.

“Our customers have become more aware of the need to ensure that these airport models are up to date against the latest Jeppesen and Aeronautical Information Packages (AIP). Collins Aerospace provides updates to those databases in order to keep them relevant, and these updates can be accessed by customers with the Collins cloud-based delivery tool,” Layfield added.

Layfield emphasized his portfolio is remaining ahead of another community development – moving elements of training from FFSs to lower-level, fixed-base, devices and part-task trainers. In one instance, Collins developed a new and extremely cost-effective modular front-projected collimated display system and turnkey fixed-base training device visual system that can be installed in a classroom-type environment. The S&T provider also provided new training equipment for pilots who are using the Collins HGS6000 and EVS3600 products. “The HUD/EVS trainer uses rehosted software with a VR headset in a desktop environment,” Layfield noted.

Also in the visual sector, Tai Duong, President, RSi Visuals, told CAT technology is advancing so rapidly that customers are now seeing higher and higher resolutions on their home TVs and incredible rendering capabilities in video games, and they expect to see that same level of performance in the visual systems on their simulators. “We have always put a big emphasis on leveraging new technologies and advancements in order to achieve the highest fidelity visual training environments possible,” he emphasized, and added, “We are now offering 4K resolution at 120hz on our visual systems and we are also pursuing game-type rendering in our software that will create more realistic and immersive visuals.”

Beyond these overarching technology ratings, Duong noted one thing that has always been important to RSi’s customers: the size of the company’s commercial airport library. RSi has developed a method for rapidly generating airports that allows the company to produce an airport that exceeds Level D specifications in significantly less time than it used to take. “This made it possible for us to expand our library to include over 1,000 commercial airport models, which we believe is the largest in the industry. In addition to our massive airport library expansion, we also launched our Airports Unlimited program, which gives our Level D customers full access to our entire airport library for the lifetime of their system.”

Duong flagged another persistent focus area on RSi’s business development horizon – changing regulations. “EASA CS-FSTD(A) Issue 3 is expected in 2023 and we are already delivering optical systems that meet the tighter geometry tolerances that will become a requirement.”

Bringing Subsystem Upgrades to Reality

UK-based Quadrant Simulation Systems has etched an important place in the broader flight simulation device ecosystem. Andrew Reeves, Technical Director, noting more than 25 years of experience across the core areas of the aviation simulation industry, said Quadrant’s team of aerospace and aviation engineers can support simulators with updates, relocations, re-hosting, installations, avionics, aero/engine model updates and mechanical structures.

“Two of our main solutions within the civil aviation training sector are flight simulation and pilot training, and air traffic control simulation and training.” The flight simulation part of the business focuses on providing engineering, design and manufacturing services to FSTD operators and OEMs. A short list of Quadrant’s customized update solutions include: visual system integrations, which in recent years have been completed using Quadrant’s patented NUQLEUS interface unit; design of mechanical structures for the transition from cathode ray tube to liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) projector architectures; IOS updates using Quadrant’s own PC IOS solution; aerodynamic data updates and UPRT solutions; control loading replacements; and avionics and cockpit update solutions.

Reeves pointed out customers’ requirements vary significantly. In some cases, a relocation project is driven by a business need to provide training on a specific aircraft type in a given country or as a result of the sale of a simulator to a new owner. He continued, “Update projects are principally driven by the need to maintain compliance against the latest regulatory requirements for pilot training. This could be as a result of the changes to the way aircraft operate, such as performance-based navigation, or the adoption of new regulations, such as UPRT. In each case the owner of the simulator must ensure that their training tools remain relevant and current to the training needs. At an extreme this includes a refit of the simulator cockpit to match the fleet configuration.”

Another demand driving simulator updates is the need to ensure the simulator’s reliable operation through many years. Reeves added that hardware obsolescence, operating costs or supportability might push an operator towards replacing a simulator system, for instance, LCOS projectors. “Alternatively, technological advances might drive an update to achieve better performance and immersion, e.g., visual system replacement.”

At the individual subsystem level, the drive for more realism in flight crew training has led to the development of the Quadrant INTERACT SATCE (Simulated ATC Environment) solution. When INTERACT is integrated with an FSTD, the pilot workload is enhanced to more closely match real-world situations by requiring crew to communicate with a virtual ATC service and operate in a crowded airspace, hence improving both the situational awareness and communication skills of the pilots.

Through the Eye of an OEM

Madrid, Spain-based Entrol, a manufacturer of fixed-based FNPT (flight and navigation procedures trainer) and FTD (flight training device) simulators, has products installed around the globe in flight schools, and with diverse operators such as helicopter emergency medical services, search and rescue, and civilian law enforcement, to support both fixed-wing and helicopter platforms, according to Nacho Navacerrada, the company’s business manager.

For fixed-wing FNPTs, customers are asking for simulated air traffic control environments so students can also practice radio phraseology in the simulator. Navacerrada told CAT vibration systems are important for Entrol’s helicopter FNPTs and FTDs to recreate emergency situations such as vortex ring or overspeed. “Without these vibration cues, it is difficult to detect these abnormal scenarios in the simulator. We work with D-BOX, a Canadian manufacturer, to integrate their vibration systems into our simulators.”

As an OEM, Entrol sees the subsystem market continuing to evolve in the next 1-3 years, as new regulatory mandates and other developments occur. Navacerrada noted one new regulation will link each training task with an FSTD’s capabilities (i.e., sound cues, flight controls and forces, motion cues and others): “That means emerging training tools like virtual reality and machine learning will be also used in certified courses, not restricted to the traditional FSTDs.

Additionally, image generators are significantly improving thanks to the gaming industry. Therefore, high-end visual systems will be more accessible to non-FFS devices such as FNPT and FTDs.”

The Entrol executive noted his company is expanding the mission training capabilities of its simulators. “We aim for connecting several devices within the same mission scenario so that the different roles of a mission (land, air, sea) can train together and practice coordination and communications during these high-risk missions.”

Reconfiguring Devices

Beyond upgrades and enhancements involving flight device subsystems is “tying it all together” – turning attention to Alsim’s reconfigurable flight simulator offerings. (Halldale’s MS&T magazine reported on reconfigurable training devices in the US military rotary aircraft training enterprise and being pursued for emerging fixed-wing applications.)

Mickael Herard, Qualification & Product Manager, built the business case for Alsim to be in this market segment, noting while the demand for specific flight training devices has always been very strong, Alsim has observed a steady growth for convertible simulators. “Alsim has delivered about 300 reconfigurable flight training devices,” he said.

Alsim's AL40/42 Flight Simulator, recently sold to Sichuan Longhao Pilot Training, combines two popular Diamond aircraft, DA40 & DA42, in one reconfigurable device. The AL40 cockpit is shown. Image credit: Alsim.

The Alsim AL40/42 simulator, for example, combines two popular Diamond aircraft, DA40 and DA42, in one device, bringing flexibility to flight schools. The device reproduces Diamond-specific interior cockpits and flight decks. Changing from the DA42 to the DA40 configuration is quick and easy, taking about 30 minutes, and is performed by swapping only the dashboard and the middle console. Herard explained the conversion kit provides two cockpit and central panels, including all aircraft system switches, Garmin avionics, as well as the specific power levers, fuel selection and yaw trim panels. “The switch of the central panel can be optional as the DA40 configuration is compatible with the DA42’s.”

Following the recent sale of the AL40/42 Flight Simulator to Sichuan Longhao Pilot Training, the Alsim executive discussed this corporate “sweet spot” in the marketplace: “The DA40 and DA42 are among the most popular aircrafts for flight training and the Alsim reconfigurable simulator allows flight schools to offer both multi-engine piston and single-engine piston training. The AL40/42 is thus the perfect tool for private pilot license, instrument rating single-engine/multi-engine and commercial pilot license needs.”

Alsim has recently released its new reconfigurable simulator, the Airliner, which represents its unique philosophy. Herard told CAT, “It is the first hybrid jet simulator combining fly-by-wire control and conventional control (based on Airbus A320 / Boeing 737 philosophies), for multi-crew cooperation, airline pilot standard multi-crew cooperation training, airline preparation and assessment.”

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