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FlightSafety Simulators for Next Generation
Buisness Aircraft
FlightSafety is building simulators for the latest generation
of flagship corporate aircraft and will deliver them in 2003. A
Falcon 900EX with the EASy big-screen cockpit will be ready in February,
followed in March by a Gulfstream V-SP with PlaneView displays,
standard-equipment head-up display (HUD) and enhanced vision system
(EVS). A Global Express full-flight simulator will be delivered
in November.
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| FSI Boeing 737 HUD |
Also in production is the first full-flight simulator for the Cessna
Sovereign, to be installed at FlightSafety's Cessna Center at the
end of the second quarter of 2003.
The new simulators use Pentium-based host computers, introduced
by FlightSafety last year, and will be equipped with the Vital-9
visual systems, the latest standard from FlightSafety's visual simulation
systems division in St. Louis. The company claims that Vital-9 is
a major step forward in visual systems. It can handle 30,000 polygons
and 4 million pixels per channel, providing an unprecedented level
of detail. With a 128-megabyte texture memory, it can use more realistic
photo-texture patterns, derived from high-resolution satellite images
of the specific area being simulated. Vital-9 can support up to
16 channels, allowing it to simulate EVS and other devices, and
is combined with the company's MultiVis weather generator.
Vital-9 was installed first on simulators for the U.S. Air Force's
new Raytheon T-6A trainer, and the first commercial installation
-- for the Embraer ERJ-145 -- received Level D certification from
the FAA in April. The company has delivered 33 Vital-9 systems,
and Vital-9 is now standard on all FlightSafety simulators.
FlightSafety is continuing to improve its fielded simulators by
installing the FlightViz PC-based debriefing system. The company
is taking delivery of 45 systems this year, bringing the total number
of simulators equipped to 95. Produced by SimAuthor of Boulder,
Colo., FlightViz generates real-time animated presentations of the
cockpit instruments, outside view and flightpath to allow the instructor
to monitor the progress of the training session. FlightViz also
records the session and can replay it in real time, and the instructor
can bookmark individual events to assist in debriefing.
Here in Orlando, FlightSafety is building a full-service learning
center with space for eight full-flight simulators. Training for
the Citation Bravo and CJ2 starts in February 2003, and the facility
will have five simulators, including an Excel and a Citation X,
by the end of 2003. It is adjacent to Orlando's new Cessna Service
Center, also due to open in 2003.
By Bill Sweetman
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