FULL MOTION FLIGHT SIMULATION

FULL MOTION FLIGHT SIMULATION

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, expensive test flights were the only way to train pilots to fly million dollar flying machines. But a test flight was an expensive proposition as precious fuel was burnt to train novices. Not only that, for every hour up in the air, the number of maintenance hours required were quite significant. Also, environmental concerns and the noise abatement legislations by people added to the problems. Test flights faded into the background, being reserved only for the final prototype. Preliminary flight-testing was now carried out on a machine called the flight simulator, which engineers had developed.
Conventional flight simulators re-construct the entire flight sequence of the aircraft and also virtual exterior features to give the pilot a chance to test his abilities without actually taking off!                                       

But flight simulators are not only limited to training pilots. Advanced flight simulators can also monitor the characteristics of the airplane during the simulation – giving researchers crucial information to investigate the design of the aircraft.
Science and technology is progressing at such a fast pace that the full motion flight range of an aircraft can be simulated, and the simulator can be used as a versatile tool for research and development of aeronautics. The full motion flight simulator at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA reserves this unique distinction.
To find out more about it, let us head to the Ames Research Center at NASA.