Some of us are probably already familiar with the full flight simulators (FFS) that are now part and parcel of any commercial jetliner’s development, training and maintenance programs, as well as the occasional use by the NTSB to simulate certain conditions. Baltic Aviation Academy Airbus B737 Full Flight Simulator (FFS) in Vilnius (Credit: Baltic Aviation Academy)īack on Earth, there are literally countless examples of how simulators are an essential part practically everywhere, ranging from the military to industry and of course aviation. This particular simulator can now be found at the Lone Star Flight Museum, along with many other examples of training and simulation equipment that astronauts used over the decades to prepare for missions on the real Space Shuttle. In the case of the Space Shuttle, there were three simulators, with the most impressive simulator probably the Motion Base Simulator as it resides on a fully articulated base (hence the name), to provide full haptic feedback as if the astronauts were truly undergoing the mission. The Space Shuttle had its own simulators, as do commercial jetliners, with simulator time counting towards the total flight time of airline pilots. There are many fields where the use of a simulator is an essential part, whether it’s an electronic device or a physical approximation like the pools used to train astronauts to deal with performing operations in zero gravity. Simulated Experiences Are Real The motion base simulator was used by all 135 space shuttle crews to train for their missions between 19. A demonstration of this can be found in the following 1967 British Pathé video: The result was a range of simulators, with the Drivotrainer and its siblings using prerecorded film reels for the audiovisual element, and so-called ‘Aetnacars’ which the students sat in to provide them with the tactile experience of a real automobile.įor a long time, the Drivotrainer was considered to be the best way to get students to familiarize themselves with the controls and operating of a car before even getting behind the steering wheel of a real car and setting off into traffic. Of particular note here is the Drivotrainer, developed by Aetna, which as an insurance company had a financial incentive to promote road safety. It was incidentally this increase in teenage car crash deaths starting in the 1950s which prompted the introduction of car driving simulators. In 2020, among US teenagers motor vehicle crashes was the leading cause of death, surpassing both homicide and suicide, even if teenage motor vehicle crash deaths have declined significantly since the 1970s. While the former is usually done at lower speeds and mistakes generally aren’t fatal, the latter is very much unforgiving, even before considering overtaking other traffic and recognizing dangerous situations like getting too close behind a truck. Yet even when operating a car in regular traffic there are already many situations that require both knowledge and skill, such as navigating through narrow city streets or hurtling oneself into highway traffic at 120 km/h. Learn Or Die Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by sex, 1975-2021 (Source: IIHS)Īs with many things, there is a big difference between knowing how to operate a vehicle and being capable of dealing with unexpected situations that may occur. It is this inexperience with dangerous situations and tendency to underestimate them which is among the primary factors why new teenage drivers are much more likely to end up in crashes, with the 16-19 age group having a fatal crash nearly three times as high as drivers aged 20 and up.Īfter an initial surge in car driving simulators being used for students during the 1950s and 1960s, it now appears that we might see them return in a modern format. Still, we send inexperienced drivers in cars onto the roads each day as they either work towards getting their driving license, or have passed their driving exam and are working towards gaining experience. Ideally, you’d do so in a perfectly safe environment, even when the instructor decides to flip on a number of disaster options and you find your method of transportation careening towards the ground, or the refinery column you’re monitoring indicating that it’s mere seconds away from going critical and wiping out itself and half the refinery with it. There are many benefits to learning to fly an airplane, drive a racing car, or operate some complex piece of machinery.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |