Capt Ftd
 

CAPT is a Computer Assisted Procecureal Trainer. Basically flick switches and look at various aircraft systems. FTD Flight Training Device. It has controls and nav computers. Basically a scaled down sim. FFS is Full Flight Sim and accurately simulates the aircraft type it is programmed for.
The new Rockwell Collins visual system was installed on one our simulators for sales presentations. Very impressive. It produced HD graphics with its new image generator. It used LCOS "Liquid Crystal On Silicon" projectors for display. No 3 color alignments. The only maintenance would be replacing the $300 light bulbs.
We used to have 3 degree trainers that were made in the late 60's, 727,DC8, DC9. Of course all these have gone the way of the Gooney bird.
The new electric motion sounds great. No more hydraulic fluid. No more cleaning up under the sims or around the pump. Plus you have less pollution, no waste fluid. I'm sure it uses less electricity than 2 or 3 motion pumps and a control loading pump.

Another question I dreamed up while stuck in the back of the plane *smile*. Do FA's go through any sim training? In case of an emergency do they have any basic knowledge of how to work some of the systems up there in Oz *grin*.

BTW Keith, have to thank you guys again. I was telling a pilot on my flight home Fri about my experience (he was non-reving) and I have to tell you I was as giddy telling him as I was that day. You guys have no clue the impact you had!!!!

Anyone want to sponsor me going to flight school?

No.

Oh come on you know you would just love to be sitting in cattle class and hear "captain lehava from the flight deck....."

I truly enjoyed switching the roles of Captain and First Officer with you in the cockpit, Lehava...

...but would it be worth jeopardizing 130 to 200 lives just to be able to hear that announcement? And what if there is a thunderstorm? Are you going to make me take over the controls again?

Regardless, knfenimore was absolutely correct:That was the most difficult part for me during the entire flight simulation experience.

Now that I have a better grasp at the concept of the brakes and when you need to do what I think I have it figured out - I was only applying one side thinking steering was primary, but braking is, and since you are coming in straight if you hit them both equally and hard you shouldnt need to steer til you have her slowed down!!!! I want another shot at that sim!!!!! I can tackle the foot thing I know I can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not to mention I want to try the taxi'ing thing we didnt do.

Truth be told I have no desire to fly passengers, but I do think I might look into taking flight lessons on a small plane and if I ever win the lottery I am getting me a sim!!!!!! I just need my fix regularly *grin*.

My big dream, some day somehow I do want to ride the jump seat on something, I want to see a real pilot do what we did!!!

I think that you have a good point.

It was difficult enough to attempt to instantly switch from using the yoke to steer the aircraft before landing to using the pedals after landing while braking the aircraft on an active runway and pulling the yoke back ever so slightly to keep the nose of the aircraft slightly upwards upon touchdown — all simultaneously.

Even though I did fairly well on my last “landing” in the Boeing 777-200 flight simulator, I would like to have the opportunity to attempt to perfect that — if I knew it would do any good in real life.

I can be such a perfectionist...

Yup, our landing announcements needed to be something along the line of "welcome to SFO, while we are happy to announce you made it alive, your connecting flights will be delayed indefinitely as we just took out all the signage and major infrastructure here at the airport" *smile*

Also Keith has me very curious to try the airbus now that he mentioned it is done with a joystick vs a yoke. I almost think the rudders would be easier in that as you wouldnt be so used to the sense of steering that you have with the yoke

I’ve been out of the sim business for 10+ years now so I’m not up to speed with the latest technologies. I do know there’s no longer the need for several million dollars worth of computer systems to drive them, but I’d be interested to hear about the new technologies that go into a modern Full Flight Sim.

And yes moving from CAE to Sunny Florida was a good move. No more driving home peering through a 1” hole in the windshield ice.

Iron Bird
 

Flight Sims are not only used for training, but for R&D by the airplane manufacturers. I was lucky enough once to visit Airbus in Toulouse and got to fly the A340 “Iron Bird”. This is a simulator like any other (no motion base) that drives the real aircraft hardware spread out in a huge hanger. When you put the wheels up, you see the wheels going up in the hanger. It all works except the engines – they are simulated and I believe they use electric motors to drive the functions the engines normally supply (beyond thrust obviously).

*jumping around excited* and I know how you put the wheels up...how cool is that *blushing* sorry, couldnt resist

Airbus vs Boeing
 

The new Airbus' use a joystick similar to an F16 fighter. It's looks like a gaming joystick. The Capt's is left handed and the F/O is right and to their respective sides. The Airbus is a fly by wire aircraft in which the pilot inputs to the joystick and the computer calculates demand and sends it to the control surfaces. Here is a link that explains fly by wire .

http://www.apollosoftware.com/produc...re_english.pdf

I would think this would be hard to move up to Capt from F/O and change control hands. As far as the rudder pedals, I think they are the same in form and function. There is still a tiller wheel for ground taxi.
It's great to have a CAE guy online. We use IBM F40's and F50's to drive our sims. We use IBM work stations to simulate our Flight Mode Computers for navigation. All are tied together through an old 10base2 network. The visual and work stations feed a standard ethernet hub to the IBM's. Our newer sims are 5 to 8 years old. We still have old Sel(Encore) 32/77 32/67. We also have some old Motorola 187's driving the Thales sims.
Keith

Yoke VS Joystick
 

:)Sorry I have not posted in a while. I was at Boy Scout Sea Base in Fla with my son. Rudders are still used for lateral control. The joystick does pitch and roll like the yoke. Ground taxi is still with the tiller.
Keith

Any recommendations for those of us who want to do 15 minutes of touch and go landings? What runways are loaded in the simulator? I'm assuming DEN is loaded, which AFAIK has the longest US runway, but is BPX/ZUBD loaded? (2000ft longer). I want to make sure that if I am trying to do a touch and go in a 777 that I have plenty of runway :)

Opposite of ifette's question, what are the shortest runways avaiable where one can try to land a 777? Not that I would want to try any C-130 maneuvers . . .

knfenimore,

I take it that there is someone (or people?) elsewhere in the building simulating ATC, departure control, arrival control, ground control, etc.?

Are the pilots in the sim required to do the broadcasts to the passengers and flight attendants? (e.g. "Flight attendants, please prepare for departure," "ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We're now cruising at 31,000 feet.")

What kind of computer processors/systems run the sims?

- Pat

Pop into the W0X0F_2P2 thread and ask there. He's quick with a good answer.

I believe what you talk about is done, as it is a defined procedure, but since time is money in the sims, there's an abbreviation you say that indicates you've done the proper pa's. Again, ask W0X0F.

Available Airports
 

This is a list of models for 777-2. This is our latest visual display system. Class 1 models are exactly like the airport. Class 2 are close, but do not have to be exact. The lower list is for the other sims. We have 2 different kinds of visual systems and they have different airport models. You can look up the airports and find rwy lengths and choose the airport you want. You will need to specify the airport code and rwy. We do not have them memorized. Device - Visual Models Report
Device Visual IG System
777-2 EP-1000CT
ICAO IATA Airport Name Model Class
------------------------------------------------------------
BIKF KEF Keflavik International Airport 2
EGKK LGW London Gatwick 2
EGLL LHR London Heathrow 2
EINN SNN Shannon 2
FAJS JNB Johannesburg 2
GENR GEN Generic 3
KATL ATL Atlanta 1
KBOS BOS Boston 2
KCVG CVG Cincinnati 1
KEWR EWR Newark 2
KIAD IAD Washington Dulles 2
KJFK JFK Kennedy 2
KLAX LAX Los Angeles 2
KMCO MCO Orlando 2
KMEM MEM Memphis 1
KONT ONT Ontario 2
KPHL PHL Philadelphia 2
KSEA SEA Seattle 2
KSFO SFO San Francisco 2
KSLC SLC Salt Lake City 2
LFKC CLY Calvi Sainte-Catherine 2
OMDB DXB Dubai 2
PAFA FAI Fairbanks 2
PANC ANC Anchorage Ted Stevens International 2
PHNL HNL Honolulu, Oahu Hawaii 2
RJAA NRT Tokyo - Narita 2
RKSI ICN Incheon South Korea 2
SBGL GIG Rio de Janeiro 2
SKBO BOG Bogota 2
VABB BOM Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji Intl) 2
VHHH HKG Hong Kong 2
VIDP DEL Delhi Indigra Gandhi Intl 2
ZBAA PEK Beijing 2
ZSPD PVG Shanghai Pudong Airport 2
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Page 1 of 2

Class 1 Visual Models :
KATL ATL Atlanta 1
KCVG CVG Cincinnati 1
KMEM MEM Memphis 1
---------------------------------------------------------
* Visual Model Class:
------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Custom Airport Model. FAA certified, QTG model.
2 Custom Airport Model.
3 Incomplete, Inaccurate, or Specific Purpose Models
------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a list for the 767 simulators.

Device - Visual Models Report
Device Visual IG System
767-5 ESIG 3350
ICAO IATA Airport Name Model Class
------------------------------------------------------------
CYVR YVR Vancouver 2
CYYC YYC Calgary 2
EDDF FRA Frankfurt 2
EGCC MAN Manchester 2
EGKK LGW London Gatwick 2
EGLL LHR London Heathrow 2
EGNM LBA Leeds 2
EHAM AMS Amsterdam 2
EINN SNN Shannon 2
GENR GEN Generic 3
KABQ ABQ Albuquerque 2
KATL ATL Atlanta 1
KBHM BHM Birmingham 2
KBOS BOS Boston 2
KBWI BWI Baltimore 2
KCLT CLT Charlotte 2
KCVG CVG Cincinnati 1
KDAL DAL Dallas/Love 2
KDCA DCA Washington Reagan National 2
KDEN DEN Denver 2
KDFW DFW Dallas/Ft. Worth 2
KDTW DTW Detroit 2
KEGE EGE Eagle County 2
KEWR EWR Newark 2
KFLL FLL Fort Lauderdale 2
KHDN HDN Hayden 2
KIAD IAD Washington Dulles 2
KJAC JAC Jackson Hole 2
KJAX JAX Jacksonville 2
KJFK JFK Kennedy 2
KLAS LAS Las Vegas McCarran Intl 2
KLAX LAX Los Angeles 2
KLGA LGA La Guardia 2
KMCO MCO Orlando 2
KMDW MDW Midway - Chicago 2
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Page 1 of 3

KMEM MEM Memphis 1
KMIA MIA Miami 2
KMSO MSO Missoula 2
KMSP MSP Minneapolis St Paul Intl 2
KONT ONT Ontario 2
KORD ORD Chicago O'Hare 2
KPDX PDX Portland 2
KPHL PHL Philadelphia 2
KPIT PIT Pittsburgh 2
KPSP PSP Palm Springs 2
KRNO RNO Reno 2
KSAN SAN San Diego 2
KSDF SDF Louisville 2
KSEA SEA Seattle 2
KSFO SFO San Francisco 2
KSLC SLC Salt Lake City 2
KSNA SNA Santa Ana 2
KTPA TPA Tampa 2
KTYS TYS Knoxville 2
LEBB BIO Bilbao 2
LFPG CDG Paris Charles De Gaulle 2
LFPO ORY Paris Orly 2
LSZH ZRH Zurich 2
LTBA IST Istanbul 2
MGGT GUA Guatemala City 2
MHTG TGU Tegucigalpa 2
MMMX MEX Mexico City (Juarez Arpt) 2
MROC SJO San Jose, Costa Rica 2
PHNL HNL Honolulu, Oahu Hawaii 2
PHOG OGG Kahului, Maui Hawaii 2
RJAA NRT Tokyo - Narita 2
RJTT HND Tokyo - Haneda 2
SBGL GIG Rio de Janeiro 2
SEGU UIO Quito 2
SKBO BOG Bogota 2
VHHH HKG Hong Kong 2
ZBAA PEK Beijing 2
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Page 2 of 3

Class 1 Visual Models :
KATL ATL Atlanta 1
KCVG CVG Cincinnati 1
KMEM MEM Memphis 1
---------------------------------------------------------
* Visual Model Class:
------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Custom Airport Model. FAA certified, QTG model.
2 Custom Airport Model.
3 Incomplete, Inaccurate, or Specific Purpose Models
------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Page 3 of 3

According to the list posted above, no DL pilots have the opportunity to practice flying into/out of TLV.

Why do I suddenly feel uncomfortable?

The new 777-2 uses IBM PC's with 32 bit processors. The older 767 sims use IBM F50's with 16bit processors. The determining factor for host a sim is not power, but timing. Processes are updated by frames per second, 60 frames per second. First instruments are updated, then motion and finally visual. This was you can not perceive a lag between input from the control and response time of the hardware.

The instructor in the sim makes GND and ATC calls. The crew responds to the instructor as if he is ATC or gnd control. They can make simulate attendant calls. They simulate the full flight, but they do not make passenger info calls.


Check the list I posted. There are a number of tricky airports. I like DCA, because its surrounded by water and has the monuments. You can pick any from the list. Just look up rwy length.

I'm not sure on shortest rwy, but find one from the list and look it up. Jackson Hole with ice and snow is fun.

Thanks for all the info Kevin. I was in the 737 sim a couple months ago and had a blast. Too bad the instructor tried to get me to crash into Turner field - I just wanted to fly!!!

Is this still the case or are here sims up in Eagan?

Is it not exactly the same as flying into/out of Puente Genil Airport which is on the above list?

DL Simulators
 

The pilots are great. They have worked for me for 3 million miles.

I advise you not to get involved in any public discussion. Given that you have worked for DL for so long, you may wish to continue until you retire. Let management answer any questions. You will not be a winner if you become involved.

Canarsie or ATLDLFF posted photos of the sim, but I can't find them. What was the URL?

TIA,

Are these the ones you're looking for??

I noticed IND is not listed. Is this an oversight or is there not a program due to the new airport?

Thread back from the dead!

I'm Chris and I work alongside the OP. Sorry to report that due to the facility consolidation from MSP to ATL, the L-1011 and MD-11 simulators have been sold and as such are in the process of being either dismantled entirely or moved to another location.

The L-1011 simulator was one of - if not THE - only TriStar device still certified. Up until 2008 or so, this trainer was used almost on a daily basis by the now-defunct ATA. Pretty impressive that this device was maintained for as long as it was, considering Delta retired the L-1011 over a decade ago.

The two MD-11 simulators have a similar story to tell. We had two MD-11 simulators - one originally acquired by Delta when the type was introduced and another shortly thereafter. The second simulator was actually originally built for British Caledonian. You airline history buffs will no doubt remember that "BCal" actually had an order on the books with McDonald Douglas for the MD-11. This order was quickly canceled by British Airways following the acquisition of BCal by BA in the 1990s. The simulator needed a new home and eventually made its way to Atlanta. World Airways relied on Delta almost exclusively for their three-holer training but that too has come to an end, at least with regards to the MD-11s. They will continue to use one of the simulators, albeit after it has been relocated to another facility by the purchaser.

As I said, all of these recent changes are due to the facility consolidation currently underway; 12 months from now, the space vacated by these simulators will be filled with those from MSP (e.g. A320s, A330s, and additional 757s).

Thanks for flying Delta,
Chris

Are you therefore denying the unpublished and unconfirmed, but highly believable, rumor that the MD-11 simulator was hijacked by Canarsie and is currently in constant use in his Marietta living room?

I can not confirm nor deny said rumor... :-)

Presumably also the 747 sims will be moving to ATL as well.

Do you know the logic behind moving the sims from MSP to ATL? I know that after the merger DL spent some money to refurbish/reconfigure Building N in MSP (where the sims were located), and moving sims, transplanting the sim instructors, etc. is not a cheap or fast proposition. Was there really that much savings in pulling out of MSP like that? It's not like Building N was the old NW HQ or any other building; all they did there was sim training. Wouldn't there also be some benefit in having two training locations in case there are backlogs (esp. on a common fleet type like the 757s)?

Just curious. With the announcement earlier this year that DL was moving all the sims and much of the maintenance from MSP to ATL, well after the merger was pretty much complete, makes you wonder about the whole "committed to MSP" thing they had always been talking about.

That would be why @DeltaAssist never responded to my tweet:
Hey @deltaassist, you have a L-1011 sim in Atlanta but nobody flies those anymore. Can I try it some time?

...and thank you for that!Please allow me to correct you to a speculation that would be far more plausible:

So...since it seems that many of our fellow FTers have been in the sims in ATL. How does one go about having that privilage?

I always thought it would be fun to be the captain coming into (or out of) SXM, St. Maarten. I know AF flies heavies into there, but the beginning and end of the runway is the water, and on departure you have to turn to miss the mountains.

It was before you officially joined and logged on as a FlyerTalk member, but most of the FlyerTalk members who have been privileged with flight simulator time did so as a part of The Delta Air Lines FlyerTalk Event — and knfenimore was critical in making that all possible. In fact, I am convinced that without him, access to the flight simulators would never have happened.

I am grateful for his efforts to give many FlyerTalk members memories to last a lifetime.

Unfortunately, the flight simulators at Delta Air Lines are not open to the public.

In part it was my fault. In part the organizers of the Delta Do in October 2010.

Going way back to the days of "Keep Delta My Delta" I contacted Blind Squirrel, who was heading the movement for Delta, and asked him for buttons which could be passed out at the Third Annual PBI-FLL Meet in 2006.

As a result, we became friendly and, the following year, he joined a group of us for a mini-Do landside in ATL. He told us that he could arrange for a limited number of people to use the sims and left it up to me to decide who they would be.

Those present at the mini-Do got first priority and I decided not to give out the remaining one or two spots because it could only result in hard feelings for those who did not get them. (I, incidentally, could not take advantage of the offer because I was flying back to Israel that night.)

Connections made at that time by Canarsie and others who got into the sims allowed them, when arranging the 2010 Do, to have the offer extended to all those who attended.

I was fortunate enough to be able to be there and promptly crashed my sim into the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge when the instructor suggested I attempt to fly under it.

I managed to kill all of us aboard, severely damage the bridge, and make Delta reconsider the wisdom of allowing idiots like me to fly, even in simulations.

Photos from event.......

http://jamesgregory.smugmug.com/The-...65201150_5gdxy

The DO was a very memorable experience and one that will not easily be forgotten. Canarsie and atldlff went above and beyond with this DO, and I know hold a special place in the hearts of the attendees! :D ^