New £12m Exeter Flight Simulator Centre Opens To High Demand
Industry: Education
For most of us a flight simulator is a game on a console, but simulators also have a serious role to play and demand remains high as a new centre opens in Exeter.
Kent UK (PRUnderground) April 18th, 2011
Any mention of the word flight simulator and you immediately think of a computer game however, these high tech machines have a very serious role to play in modern aviation, which is why a new flight centre with a simulator, cabin door trainers and 25 class rooms has just opened in the UK.
The brand new flight training facility costing over £12million has just opened at Exeter Airport and houses a state of the art flight simulator costing £6 million. Operating 20 hours a day, all 750 of FlyBe airline’s pilots will do sim checks here and the training facility will be opened up to other airlines too, with slots already getting heavily booked up.
All major airlines use flight simulator technology to ensure pilots are constantly being trained, with refresher courses each year. The idea of using a motion simulator is that pilots can practice simulated conditions and circumstances that they don’t face every day (thankfully) in complete safety.
At the push of a button, the plane can simulate rainstorms, wind shear, systems failures, a fire onboard and other potentially hairy in-flight situations. Even bird strikes can be simulated, which is what happened to the airliner that Captain Chesley Sullenberger managed to aquaplane in a safe emergency landing on the Hudson River. Since that incident, the same flight path is being used regularly on simulator training in the USA to emulate the real life situation.
However, these expensive flight sims are not just the domain of professional crews. Mere mortals can have a taste of what it’s like onboard the latest jet airliner, as many training facilities open up their doors to the public as well. Most of these centres have fixed flight simulators that trainee pilots use to practice procedures, so any budding pilot can get a real hands on insight to what it’s like to fly a jet or a commercial airliner.
For more information contact Caroline Face at caroline@intotheblue.co.uk
Into the Blue offers a variety flight simulator experiences, from commercial airliner sims, to military jet fighter simulators. All this fun can be had without leaving the ground from £75 per person for a 20-minute session.
About Into the Blue:
Into the Blue is a specialist experience activity gift voucher company that started life in 1996 as an off-shoot of Air Displays International Ltd (operator of the world-renowned Biggin Hill Air Fair), offering flying activities and lessons.
Since then, the company has added a whole range of different activities to the portfolio of activity gift voucher experiences, which now totals in excess of 600. All experiences are available to buy directly from intotheblue.co.uk or by calling 01959 578100.
The company continues to evolve the range and believes that there is a perfect experience suitable for every individual and for every occasion.
