The initial stages of pilot training in aircraft can be inherently dangerous. Though early aviation pioneers were forced to take this risk or stay on the ground, this is no longer the case. Almost all pilots start their training in single engine, piston powered aircraft accompanied by a flight instructor. Most advanced training, and in particular, training of professional pilots in turbine powered aircraft, is now performed in a simulator. It is possible to simulate almost any emergency or system failure in a simulator without risking life or limb.
Another key advantage is the cost savings of simulated flight versus actual flight. Though simulators are not inexpensive, it is still much less costly for a pilot to take his/her ‘check ride’ in a simulator than actually firing up and flying a very pricey civilian or military aircraft.
Though there were earlier attempts to build a ground based flight simulator most consider the Link trainer, developed by Edwin Link in 1929, to be the first ‘real’ simulator. Following a number of US Army Air Corps accidents in the early 1930s, the army purchased four of Link’s simulators and the flight simulator industry was born.
FlightSafety International was founded in 1951 and, with a fleet of nearly 400 simulators currently in service, is the world’s leading supplier of such systems and a leader in the development of simulator technology.
In November 2007, FlightSafety International engineers, working closely with United Electronic Industries’ (UEI’s) engineering team, deployed the latter’s ‘RACKtangle’ I/O series on the new SIMI/O series simulators. The UEI system provides the interface between the controlling computers and the simulator's various systems, including Avionics Instrument Control (AIC), Control Loading and Motion (CLM) and Flight Deck I/O (FDK). The UEI platform was selected for a variety of reasons, chief among them being:
* a high channel density that allowed the I/O to be installed directly on the simulator, drastically reducing system wiring;
* a high-speed I/O combined with the Gigabit Ethernet interface that allowed the system to run at 2,000Hz, providing ultra-smooth and realistic flight characteristics, and
* built-in diagnostics that reduced installation time, increased MTBF and which may well increase simulator ‘in-system availability’ beyond FlightSafety's already very respectable 99.6%.
UEI president, Shaun Miller is rather proud that FlightSafety's next generation SimI/O equipped flight simulators will feature UEI's RACKtangle I/O series. "Our team has worked very hard to create the necessary elements to control all aspects of a simulator, including analogue and digital I/O, avionics and communications interfaces as well as a real-time Ethernet based software interface.”
According to Ron Jantzen, director of engineering (simulation systems) at FlightSafety International, the UEI system is a key component of the new SimI/O equipped simulators. "The capabilities and benefits provided by the RACKtangle I/O series system come as a result of the close working relationship and contributions of UEI’s and FlightSafety’s engineering teams. This system will enhance the performance of our simulators, provide simpler and quicker maintenance, increase in-system availability, and help us to achieve our ultimate goal of creating a superior simulator."
UEI products are available in the UK from Adept Scientific. The ‘RACKtangle’ architecture is a compact and rugged Gigabit Ethernet based I/O platform comprising a core module (with processor and network interface), a power supply module and twelve I/O slots. Users simply match the RACKtangle I/O configuration to their application by selecting the appropriate I/O modules. With over 30 I/O modules to choose from, a configuration is available for almost any application requirement. The RACKtangle's 12 I/O slots provide up to 300 analogue inputs, 384 analogue outputs, 576 digital I/O, 96 counter or quadrature channels, 144 ARINC-429 channels and/or 48 serial or CANbus ports.