Simulators at Lasham

1
Simulators at Lasham since 2003 by Gordon
MacDonald
2
The start

• The Lasham trust wanted a new project to fund.
• They agreed to fund the building of the simulator
  in late 2003.
• Toshiba required corporate entertainment for a
  gliding competition at Lasham in 2004.
• Peter Masson, Shaun Lapworth, Barry Woodhouse
  and I ran the project.

3
Early decisions

• Real cockpit. - Grob 103 available
• As wide a screen as possible - 3 projectors
• A good sound system. 4 surround speakers
• Dedicated room. Previous briefing room
• Off the shelf software. X-plane and Silent wings
• Realistic flight modelling.
• Very low maintenance hardware
• Lasham scenery was low priority

4
Thoughts and costs

• At this point we were building a corporate
  entertainment toy.
• We would build it and then decide if it was a toy
  or serious training tool.
• Cost 4500 (6000 euros). Simulator Room security,
  professional upholstery and professional paint
  job on the simulator exterior was 3000 euros of
  that price.
• Approx 500 volunteer man hours

5
Evolution

• Corporate toy great success.
• Not taken seriously by many.
• At first used for rained off trial flights
• Rapidly learned only to let instructors train
  students.
• November 2004, I had time to do some real
  research and experimentation

6
Proving the illusion

• Train a real student, selected at random in the
  simulator to solo standard. Then put them in a
  glider and see if they can fly.
• The student had no previous flying experience and
  had completed 1 aerotow trial flight.
• He was 31 and a supermarket shop manager

7
Simulator sessions

• 10 Friday afternoons of briefing and one hour
  simulator sessions.
• Followed BGA and Lasham syllabus
• Was never allowed to crash simulator or break
  aerotow rope.
• Solo in the simulator after 8 hours training.
• Flies simulator better than most real glider solo
  pilots when they have a go.
• Ready for the real glider.

8
Glider sessions(K21)

• 1st flight. Student flew entire flight. Student
  found rudder heavier than simulator. Speed
  control - 8knots. Landing good
• 2nd flight. Coordination now at solo standard.
  Speed control - 5knots. Perfect spot landing
  outside hangar. If this was check flight, he
  would pass!
• 3rd flight. Many weeks later. Stall spin
  training. Student struggles with stalling
  sensation. I teach the student loops instead to
  build confidence. Speed - 3knots. The student
  enjoys this hugely. Perfect circuit and landing

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Day 2 flight traing

• 4th flight. Stalling and spin training. Student
  now loves stalling! Perfect circuit and landing.
  I was now happy the experiment was a success. But
  the student wanted to fly solo and the BGA law
  required 20 landings.
• 5th flight. 1h 15m in rotax falke. 15 landings
  practicing circuit problems, launch failures and
  3 very good field landings. Could have soloed
  falke.
• 6th flight. Normal tow. Speed - 2 knots.

10
7th ever flight (6 in gliders)
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Problems this training caused

• Student not airfield aware.
• Student does not contribute to club flying as has
  no spare time.
• A number of senior members and instructors think
  this is a dangerous precedent. They do not
  believe in it. Culture change issues.
• The treasurer is worried what this training will
  do to launch income.
• Big debate how much the simulator should cost per
  hour. Or should it be free?
• Students wife had baby and he gave up gliding!

12
Good points

• Use of the pause button is brilliant!
• Instructor demonstrations combined with
  interactive briefings massively improves quality
  of students understanding in minimum time.
• A better training environment in all weathers.
• Lasham scenery is not important. We only had
  Minden
• At this stage Silent Wings had by far the best
  flight modelling and runway landing graphics.
• Younger instructors and ATPL holders all believe
  in the simulator.

13
Instructor training

• Patter training quality improved.
• This time we can allow simulator to crash if
  trainee instructor does not take over in time!
• We can demonstrate dangerous situations like over
  rotation on winch launch and undershoot.
• Massively reduces cost of instructor training.
• Higher quality understanding in less time and
  lower cost.

14
A few thoughts

• The most important aspect of simulator flying
  realistic is the visual illusion with sound.
  Movement is not very important.
• A student trained in a simulator, converting to a
  glider does not need to be taught to fly. They
  need differences training, like a type
  conversion.
• Older glider pilots and instructors can take a
  very long time to convert onto simulator and can
  get very frustrated by it. Some do not achieve
  the required skill level.
• Young pilots learn much quicker and achieve
  better competence.

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Conclusion

• Good briefing aid. Fly the exercise in the
  simulator and then go fly it in the glider.
• Lasham pays for instructor training, the
  simulator has saved Lasham a lot of money.
• All weather bookable use. Including evenings.
• Training available regardless of weather.
• Has proven to be a great marketing tool
• Is good for nervous trial flights.
• High risk demonstrations now safe.
• 1500hours of use. Only failure have been 3
  projector bulbs.
• Now an accepted part of what Lasham does.
• We do not sell simulator only products. We
  should!
• Fraction of the capital and running cost of a new
  glider.
• It is not for everyone however.

16
Still not convinced?

• Airlines, helicopter operators and the military
  have been using simulators for more than 50
  years. The gliding world is just waking upto what
  is obvious and well proven in the rest of the
  aviation community.