FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0310.PDF
144 FLIGHT, 5 February 1954 SIMULATING THE SABRE First Redifon F-86E Simulator Handed Over to the R.C.A.F. THE contract under which ten Sabre simula tors are to be delivered to the R.C.A.F. was awarded to Redifon, Ltd., in the face of strong competition, in July 1952. Its value is 3,500,000 Canadian dollars (over £l m) and the granting was conditional upon the first simulator being delivered in eighteen months. The contract is part of Canada's contribution to the European defence programme. This first equipment, of the mobile type, was handed over last week at a ceremony at the makers' Webber Street, London, premises, A. Cdre. Martin Costello, O.B.E., CD. (deputizing for A. V-M. Campbell), accepting it on behalf of the R.C.A.F. from Mr. Paul Adorian, Redifon chairman. The great value of these simulators lies in the fact that they save money by reducing the aircraft flying hours required for training, and also allow periodical checks and instrument-flying practice to be carried out. Emergency procedures can also be practised in safety. There is no suggestion, of course, that simulators can take the place of more than a proportion of the hours required for familiarization and practice. The cost of operating the Sabre simulator is said to be a little under £3 per hour, compared with the aircraft cost of at least £150 per hour. A simulator can be operated for 15 hours a day, irrespective of weather conditions, and it has been calculated that by its use up to 16 Sabre flying hours can be saved during the training of a Service pilot to operational standard. On a squadron with an average complement of 25 pilots, the saving is approxi mately 30 flying hours per man per year. The R.C.A.F. expects to save a total of some 3j million dollars a year when all the simulators are in service. An excellent summing-up of the value of the simulator was given at the handing-over ceremony by A. Cdre. Costello. He said that in recent years the complexity of the modern aeroplane had become a major problem, and that with this complexity had come an increase in the value of the machines that was now measured in figures which were undreamed of only a few years ago. In a similar manner, the responsibility placed on each individual pilot had grown. "To meet this," he continued, "we are faced with the need for a most careful selection of the men who will be trained to fly, and a far more extensive training programme than was necessary a few years ago. In the case of the Sabre in the R.C.A.F., a great deal of this training must at present be carried out in the air, using fully operational aircraft. This is indeed an expensive necessity and even this training has its limitations, because no instructor can be carried in the aircraft and, when things go wrong, an instructor's personal observation of the pilot's ability is lacking. "This simulator has been designed to fill these needs. It is a big step forward in pilot training and has the potential to improve the fighting qualities of our pilots, to reduce the accident rate, to save aircraft and perhaps even lives. With the simulator, any fault in a pilot's technique is quickly exposed. The pilot works under simulated conditions approaching actual flight . . . The instructor can introduce any type of technical fault he may wish and watch the pilot's reaction. "The full complement of these simulators in the R.C.A.F. can save the costs of certain aspects of pilot training which, when added together over a period of a year, will equal the cost of the total simulator contract." A few details of the intended distribution of the ten simulators have been disclosed by the R.C.A.F. It is planned to provide two of the mobile installations for fighter wings serving in Europe and two static simulators for the No. 1 Fighter Opera tional Training Unit at Chatham, New Brunswick. The first simulator will be delivered to No. 1 Fighter Wing, at North Luffenham, Rutland. (The R.CA.F. now have four fighter wings operating Sabres in Europe, making up a 12-squadron air division.) Personnel will be trained by Redifon, Ltd., in the servicing of the simulators, and the first 12 men are now on a course at the company's works. "Flying" the Simulator. A member of the staff of Flight has had the opportunity of making a brief trial of the Redifon inside the simulator vehicle, 36ft long, ore the Sabre cockpit os seen above, the recording panels (left) and the instructor's console (below). In the front of the vehicle, still within the trailer section, are the computers, power unit and air-conditioning plant.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
