New flight simulator is a jewel
Massey University’s new simulator may never leave the ground, but from the cockpit it feels just like a Diamond in the sky.
The Massey School of Aviation’s $700,000 Diamond DA42 aircraft simulator is one of the most realistic available, and there is only one other training institute in New Zealand with one like it.
School chief executive Ashok Poduval said the simulator would bring new opportunities for jobs and training for Kiwi pilots.
It had already been the promise of the simulator that lured Qantas’s Future Pilots Programme to Manawatu¯ , he said.
The school’s chief of standards, Paul Kearney, said the simulator’s cockpit was identical to the Diamond aircraft, being made from the same moulds and in the same factories, with a 220-degree wraparound screen.
‘‘It’s incredible. At times it’s hard to believe you are in a simulator, it’s so realistic in the way it flies.’’
Kearney said this allowed the simulator to get Civil Aviation Authority approval for certifying pilots on manoeuvres that would normal require real flight time.
‘‘The visuals come right round to behind the wing, which is pretty unique for a simulator.’’
Kearney said simulators were increasingly important in pilot training as aircraft became more sophisticated.
It was better that the students learned to not hit the wrong switch in a simulator rather than in the air, he said.
"There are pages and pages of things I can use to ruin a student’s day in the new simulator.’’