FSEMC Announces 2019 Award Winners

The Flight Simulator Engineering and Maintenance Committee (FSEMC) has announced the 2019 award winners for its Edwin A. Link Award and the Roger S. Goldberg Award. The FSEMC provides cost effective solutions to simulator operational and maintenance problems through international conferences and establishes technical standards that increase simulator readiness and reduce operational costs.

Each year, the FSEMC encourages the contribution ofideas, leadership, and innovation by allowing individuals to be nominated forthe Edwin A. Link Award and the Roger S. Goldberg Award prior to the annual FSEMCconference, which was recently held from October 21-24, 2019, in Utrecht,Netherlands.

Edwin A. Link Award Winner

The Edwin A. Link award recognizes one individual for outstanding personal achievement, intended to recognize an individual for technical knowledge, skills, and leadership in the flight simulation training industry.   The award is named after Edwin Albert Link, who invented the Link Trainer flight simulator, starting the beginning of the flight simulation industry.

This year’s 2019 award has been presented to Mark Dransfield, an independent Flight Simulation and Training Device (FSTD) consultant based out of the United Kingdom.

Eric Fuilla-Weishaupt, Airbus (left), presents the  Edwin A. Link Award to Mark Dransfield (right).

After a period working as an aerodynamics engineer with BAE Systems, Dransfield started his career in simulation when he joined the then Rediffusion Simulation Ltd. in Crawley, United Kingdom in 1989. For the next 12 years, he held various positions in the software engineering department and headed the updates group. In 2001, he left what was by then Thales, to join the UK CAA as a simulator standards manager, responsible for managing the regulatory oversight of all FSTD qualifications. 2004 saw him returning to Thales and taking up the position as the director programmes in Australia.

In 2007, he returned to the UK and took up the position of director strategy & marketing civil at Thales UK. During this time, he was responsible for the launch of the Thales Reality 7 devices.

In 2009, heleft Thales and joined Mechtronix Systems Inc. as directorregulatory affairs for TRU Simulation & Training (ATS). The candidate wasresponsible for regulatory liaison with TRU customers and worldwide regulatoryauthorities for FSTD qualifications and regulations. Later, he was the groupmanaging director of the ETOPS group of companies that were acquired in Q1 2016and integrated into TRU Simulation + Training.

What has set Dransfieldapart is his tireless work on the regulations that govern the industry. He hasparticipated in numerous FSEMC working groups over the years and been anadvocate of the FSEMC’s role in our industry. In addition, he has held the roleof chairman of both the RAeS Flight Simulation Group Committee (2011-2013), andof the IPTA Training Device Work Stream (TDWS) subcommittee (2015-June 2017)charged with the continuing oversight, amendment, and adoption of ICAO9625Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of FSTDs. He continues to work withpassion on making sure the FSEMC has regulations that ensure the higheststandards for the industry.

Dransfieldholds a Bachelor of Science (Honors) degree in Aeronautical Engineering fromQueen Mary College, London University, United Kingdom, is a registeredChartered Engineer, and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Roger S. Goldberg AwardWinner

The Roger S. Goldberg Award recognizes an individual in the FSEMC community who exhibits the characteristics of outstanding personal service and exemplifies the true heart and soul of FSEMC — an FSEMC Most Valuable Player (MVP). The award was named in honor of Roger Goldberg, who served as FSEMC Executive Secretary from the FSEMC’s inception in 1994 and strongly believed in the FSEMC as one of the greatest tools the flight simulation industry has to promote safety and integrity in the aviation business.

This year's Roger S. Goldberg Award has been presented to Mike Jackson, whose longstanding history of serving the FSEMC community set him apart as this year’s FSEMC MVP.

Eric Fuilla-Weishaupt, Airbus (left), presents the Roger S. Goldberg Award to Mike Jackson  (right).

Jackson began his career at Bell Canada, working entry levelpositions in the communication field. He then moved on to work at CAE, takingvarious engineering and program management positions within CAE in the flightsimulation industry. After 19 years, this candidate became a manager ofAcquisitions and Programs at FedEx and remained in that position for almost 21years. He is responsible for the Flight Simulator Engineering department,including the acquisition of all major and minor upgrades of simulators andtraining devices. He is also responsible for maintaining Federal Aviation Administrationqualification on all FedEx’s devices.

Jackson was instrumental in the success of several FSEMCworking groups. His work as chairman of the SimSoft Working Group resulted inthe development of ARINC Report 610C: Guidance for the Design of AircraftEquipment and Software for use in Training Devices. As chairman of the FSEMCData Document (FDD) Working Group, he led the production of ARINC Specification450: Flight Simulator Design and Performance Data Requirements. Jackson wasalso an active member of the FSEMC Steering Committee for 14 years, servingpart of that long tenure as steering committee chairman. Even during conferences,this individual served the FSEMC as moderator, spotter, and camera operator.

When not volunteering his time at working groups, steeringcommittee meetings, and the conference, he has worked tirelessly to recruit newmembers and promote the FSEMC to outside organizations.

Jackson holds a Bachelor of Engineering in ElectricalEngineering from McGill University.