SIMULATORS & TRAINING
1 // A TRU Bell 429
full flight simulator at
the Bell Helicopter
Training Academy in
Valencia, Spain
2 // TRU’s Bell 525 full
flight simulator uses
components from the
actual aircraft
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // MARCH 2020 79
equipment, has become the core motivation for TRU.
Level D is the highest standard of simulator. It offers
full motion and the highest fidelity possible. Typical
customers will be in the oil and gas sector operating an
Airbus H135. The main benefit for the customer is a
reduction in costs, along with less wear on the aircraft
and less hours used up on training flights. But with the
average simulator taking up to 12 months to prepare for a
client and taking into account the cost, smaller helicopter
operators such as those flying the new Bell 505, have an
alternative option.
Smith says, “For lighter aircraft, we have a fixed
based device, but ours still has a small degree of motion
dialed into the vibration spectrum, so it gives a relatively
low-cost approach to training. The benefit is that you
don’t need as much space and you get the same
immersive visuals as you would in a larger system.
“When any pilot is flying, they are not going to put
their aircraft at risk. The first job is to keep that aircraft
safe and the second is training. In our simulators we do
the opposite. The first thing is training and that’s the
only thing.”
SIMULATOR DEVELOPMENT
All of TRU’s simulators follow a similar development
path by gathering as much flight test data as possible.
The samples have to be fast. Rates of around hundred
times per second in data acquisition is the minimum.
“But here lies a fundamental problem,” says Smith. “The
manufacturer has only flown the prototype in certain
maneuvers or specific weight configurations, so pilots
play a huge role in making the quality
aspect within the simulator – their
opinion adds value to the whole package.
“A pilot will fly a certain maneuver,
perhaps one they have flown a thousand
times before in a real aircraft. Then they
sit in the simulator and say, ‘look this
feels slightly off’, and perhaps the flight
controls are not quite where they would
be in a real machine. We check against
our own flight test data. If we can see the
variable then we fix it. You need that
additional layer of pilot context when
developing these kinds of systems.”
TRU is currently developing a search
and rescue (SAR) simulator that replicates
the cockpit and the rear cabin for the
winch operator. Both work in unison and
simulate the feeling and full motion
during a typical rescue scenario. The type
of ship and sea state can also be recreated
and even scenarios such as engine failure
during a rescue.
CENTRIFUGAL STRUGGLE
While such technical advances fuel
uptake in the industry, the use of
expensive six-dot simulators may be
coming to an end in training future
military fast jet pilots. Paul Hutton, CEO
of Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, foresees
a far simpler, cost-effective way.
“If you think of a military fast jet
pilot, they do a lot of long duration high-g
/AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM