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Simulation cockpits have been used since the 1920s to train pilots in a safe environment. Early versions only allowed for instrument training, but later versions included an exterior view using video cameras and screens, which were eventually replaced by computer graphics. Today’s simulators transmit information instantly and are used in official pilot training.
Expensive planes and nervous pilots are a dangerous mix. It is safer for both the trainee and the aircraft if the trainee learns as much as possible about aircraft controls while in a safe environment that mimics the experience of being in the air. The advent of the simulation booth in the 1920s allowed students to do just that. The apparatus used in the 21st century mimics as closely as possible the many characteristics of flying, using computers and three-dimensional images to create a realistic flight experience without leaving the ground.
The first simulation cockpits were wooden boxes with flight instruments inside, mounted on a pedestal that could be swung to mimic the plane’s movement through the air. The trainee pilot sat inside the box and all light was blocked out to simulate the conditions of flying in the dark. The student could not see through the front of the cabin and had to concentrate on using the instruments. Simulation cockpits built by Link Aviation Inc. beginning in the 1930s were used to train pilots during World War II.
One disadvantage of the early simulation cockpits was that students could only learn the skills of flying using instruments. In order for simulators to train pilots in a broader range of flying skills, simulator designers needed to give the simulated cockpit a realistic exterior view. The first versions of a cabin with an exterior view were developed in the 1950s.
The first types of external view simulated cockpit used a video camera, display, and model airfield. The pilot could use the joystick to “fly” the video camera over the model airfield and the images were transmitted to the screen in front of him. The next innovation for cockpit simulators was to use more than one screen to create a 180° view to the front and sides of the trainee.
Video cameras and screens were replaced by computer graphics in the 1970s. The first computer-generated images were produced by the General Electric Co. for use in the American space program. At first the images were two-dimensional, but later versions produced realistic images that appeared three-dimensional.
Simulation cockpits at the beginning of the 21st century transmit the information coming from the pilot’s instruments to the virtual screen in less than a tenth of a second. The screen is projected onto a panoramic spherical mirror and the pilot views the image in front of him, reacting almost instantly to his instructions. A simulated cockpit is often used as part of the official training of a commercial or military pilot.
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