Flying Magazine

Flying (Magazine)
Hamish Allen
November/December 2007

There’s no contesting that the flight simulator has established itself as a major component in modern aviation. GFPT student pilot, Hamish Allen, enters the world of shiny wings and epaulettes with a visit to “Flight Experience” at Sydney’s Darling Harbour.

Starting possibly with an off-the-shelf PC-based device that may well sow the seed that blossoms into a rewarding aviation career, the simulator will make a regular appearance, popping up throughout the PPL phase of training, where some amongst us will take the opportunity to barrel roll the company 310. As your training progresses, the simulator is used in a more serious context to hone IFR skills and practise failure drills. Let us not overlook its role in the
all-important airline simulator check ride then hopefully, lots of renewals.

There is also a large community of simulator-based enthusiasts who plow through the night in and around virtual worlds, flying any number of airframes on very important missions. These virtual pilots replicate all weather, highly demanding instrument approaches to the most inhospitable airfields in the largest and most complex airliners both past and present – all from the comfort of their home, perhaps even with a glass of matured red by their side.

Clearly, the simulator has earned its stripes as both a valid and cost effective device capable of returning real training scenarios that can be conducted without risk and at a fraction of the cost of operating actual aircraft.

The new kid on the block is a company called Flight Experience. The concept is in some respects elegant in its simplicity. The user gets to take the controls of possibly the most realistic replica of a Boeing 737-800 cockpit around – for a fraction of the price charged to access multi million dollar factory simulators. The company originates from New Zealand where they already operate numerous simulators at different locations around the country. The cockpits are in fact so realistic that Flight Experience New Zealand has been granted a Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand synthetic training device approval.

The first franchise of Flight Experience in Australia has been snapped up by Harvey Cassie, operating from Sydney’s tourist mecca Darling Harbour, and CASA has been approached with regard to certification. The prospect of gaining such an approval from CASA is not a pivotal part of the business plan
but shows they are taking this equipment very seriously.

Mix of customers

So who is lining up to experience flying a jet from the pilot’s point of view? Harvey explained: “A large percentage of our forward bookings are in the form of gift flights from wives or girlfriends to their partners. We also get people who have had a lifelong love of aviation and, up until now, would have never had the opportunity to be at the controls of a passenger jet.”

There is also a constant stream of bookings from corporate clients looking for an affordable and truly unique way of entertaining clients or just rewarding staff as part of incentive programs.

Australian Flying was invited to fly a fairly typical flight – in this case a quick hop down to Canberra from Sydney. The flight started with my strapping in next to duty instructor Benjamin Lai. The usual ground checks were performed, radio checks and clearances sorted.

In Command

The whole flight is programmed into the flight management computer. I was then given a brief but comprehendible tutorial of the various controls and displays. At push-back you get the first glimpse of how realistic the outside display of the environment is. With the engines started, I taxied to the active runway. We received the relevant clearance from traffic control, I lined up, advanced the throttles until the auto thrust took over then concentrated on holding the centerline while Benjamin called the speeds and predetermined reference points.

I opted to hand fly the departure and establish us onto course before engaging the auto pilot. During the first climbing turn, I was more than a little surprised how realistic the sensation of motion was. In fact, it was so convincing that it was a little unnerving. I knew I was sitting in what was essentially a very expensive and, I might add, very stationary room down by the water in Darling Harbour, but my brain was telling me I was performing a climbing turn up and to the right. I was experiencing very real spatial disorientation. Thankfully we quickly entered clouds (there’s a sentence I thought I would never say) and it was time to get my eyes inside the cockpit and give my GFPT spec. scan a little workout. We hit top of climb and immediately started our descent into Canberra – it was time for another command decision. Auto pilot off, I would hand fly the approach, intercept the localizer and set up for a nice stable descent and instrument landing onto runway 35. It sounded good when I informed my First Officer of my intentions. The ensuing performance wasn’t quite so cool and was possibly the first time steep turns had been used in such a manner in my attempt, sorry – my attempts, to capture and conform to the flight path described on one of my primary flight screens. Benjamin started calling the desired speeds as I deployed the speed brakes and manipulated the throttles. We came out of the clouds at a little under five thousand feet and were visual and nicely lined up with Canberra’s runway.

A storm cell was visible just out to the right. With our prelanding checks out of the way, we were cleared for a straight-in approach and continued down onto the runway catching a few gusts of stiff wind just above the flare. (Who said students these days cannot use their feet?) I think the best way to describe my landing is to use some of the current and very fashionable jargon of the day and call it a “Sub-Prime Landing”.

Report card

My opinion? I’d had a no risk flight in a modern complex aircraft that was both rewarding and enjoyable. All the manoeuvres required of me were within my capabilities and I was never made to feel out of my depth. I won’t say I was not challenged but, being a pilot at GFPT level, I feel that is totally appropriate.

How realistic Flight Experience is to the commercial operation of a 737-800 I cannot gauge, but it must be reasonably close and, to that end, Harvey Cassie is daily receiving booking requests for block time from working commercial pilots wanting to brush up their skills prior to taking a simulator check ride.

Commercial application

In preparation for this article I spoke with three pilots, who had flown a few hours with Flight Experience prior to undergoing a simulator evaluation as part of the selection process for employment with the major airlines.

Mark and Tim are current Rex pilots flying SAAB 340s looking to step up to jets as part of current Virgin Blue recruitment. Jock has been out of commercial aviation for a while and has used Harvey’s simulator as part of his programme to bring his skills up to speed prior to his simulator ride with Qantas Link. Interestingly, his simulator check was conducted in the Qantas 767 simulator which had been reconfigured to fly like a light twin.

All three pilots’ views were very similar; each one qualified their experience with the statement that although the Flight Experience 737 was not a full motion simulator, this was not seen as a major drawback, particularly in light of the cost saving. (Hiring a full motion simulator can run at around $1000-$2000 per hour).

All three agreed that spending a couple of hours in Harvey’s 737 simulator was a very important part of their preparation for their company check ride. Mark noted that without the motion component, you are forced to rely absolutely on your scan as you don’t get any physical clues to alert you to changes in velocity or heading. The only criticism leveled at the whole operation was the lack of a senior instructor being available for some of the more complex and subtle training exercises that advanced commercial pilots would like to practise. To Harvey’s credit, this is being looked at, and by the time this goes to print may have been resolved.

With major airlines currently recruiting and relying heavily on a simulator component in the evaluation of candidates, it is no wonder that many applicants are opting to spend a few hours practising and honing manoeuvres in the Flight Experience 737.

Value?

The big question is whether it is worth it. One could argue that this has already been decided by the long queue of punters ready to pay and play. These would-be big jet captains are coming from roughly two areas:

People who have no aeronautical experience and are taking up this previously unobtainable opportunity to experience life at the pointy end of a 737. They often commute into Sydney’s tourist precinct, working up a whole mega weekend of thrills.You could do a “Three B day” – bridge climb, jet boat and a Boeing flight.

The second group is made up of aviation enthusiasts and pilots of varying standards and are here for different reasons. There are career pilots who use this simulator as a calculated element in their training and preparation for that ultimate job with the Majors. There are also people more like myself, who are curious and for the first time we are able to put up some cash and see just how hard these things are to fly.

Flight Experience packages (at the time of printing) range from as little as $149