Horizons Online Edition

Issue date: 11/10/06 Section: News

A student flies an F/A-18 Hornet fighter in the new cockpit simulator in the Airway Science Lab.

Imagine some scrap metal, a couple of chairs, several computers and a gazillion brain cells and you have got yourself a pretty cool little flying machine. College of Aviation Assistant Professor Raynald Bédard is the mastermind behind the Airbus 320 Simulator next door to the Airway Science Lab in AC1. He is eager to share his passionate enthusiasm for the project and even more keen to share the credit for its creation. With funding, service and support from Embry-Riddle staff, faculty and students the dream machine began taking shape and has soared beyond expectations.

The A320 was born from an old procedure trainer gleaned from the ERAU flight line. The blue shell houses flight management computers, Microsoft Simulator 2004 with Project Magenta, a bank of monitors, and peripheral flight equipment to complete the land locked cockpit. The seats are forever grounded but your mind will never believe you are not among the clouds chasing the shouting wind along. The vision of flight is all too real and you will find yourself reaching for the seatbelt to secure yourself.

Bédard's A320 can take virtual aviators to over 23,760 airport destinations in the world abroad and they can fly there in any aircraft ranging from the Wright Flyer to the F-18 Hornet; the possibilities are endless.

Additionally, there are plans in the future for the A320 and ones like it to hook up with sims across the room and across the globe to fly side-by-side with other pilots. There could be dozens or hundreds of aircraft at once in flight together and each will be visible on the screens of all the flyers.

Assisting with the A320 is Vincent Durel from Toulouse, France. Durel instructs cockpit procedures to flight controllers for them to experience and appreciate the maneuvers they request of pilots especially during emergency situations. Ultimately, Bédard's A320 students in Prescott will be able to communicate with Durel's sim pilots in France. This intercontinental link will be essential experience for all pilots to be able to communicate with controllers from foreign countries. To be able to understand accents and dialects regarding maneuver instructions when responsible for the safety of hundreds of passengers is crucial knowledge.

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