The $20 million piece of equipment that’s made flying much safer

The engine fire cannot be extinguished and, as the pilots manoeuvre the aircraft for an immediate return to the airport, the cabin crew report that smoke is entering the passenger cabin. The captain brings the aircraft to a stop on the runway and works with the first officer to complete the evacuation checklist.

With elevated heart rates and the adrenaline flowing, the pressure to safely resolve the life-threatening event is very real.

But then a voice says: “We’ll stop it there, thanks. Time for a coffee.”

Welcome to the world of aircraft simulators.

Delicately balanced on hydraulic jacks, the dimly lit cubes are priced at more than $20 million each. They are an expensive piece of hardware, but their value over real-life simulations was never better demonstrated than by a devastating accident in 1991, in which a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing 707 stalled and crashed into the sea killing five people. They were simulating, in a real plane, a double engine failure for training at the time.

Simulators allow these kinds of situations to be taught and practiced within a safe space, where a mishandling of the manoeuvre results in the pause button being hit before the opportunity to discuss and then practice again.

One of the many benefits of the simulator, by way of example, is the practice of tricky crosswind landings. They’re the ones which often go viral on social media as the aircraft appears to land sideways. The ability to reposition the aircraft to practice multiple landings in a very short time in the simulator makes for a safe, efficient and effective way to learn.

Airlines use full-motion simulators to train their crews. Inside the large plain-looking cubes is a perfect replica of the flight deck of whichever aircraft it is being used to simulate. The outside world is projected onto what would be the flight deck windows creating a 180-degree view with astonishing accuracy.

Simulators are driven by powerful computers which not only create the world inside the cube but also drive the hydraulic jacks to simulate the motion that is accurate to how the cube is being flown. When combined with the visuals inside, the inner ear is tricked, and the simulator genuinely feels like it is accelerating during a take-off and doing a steep turn. It even produces a little bump when taxiing over the centreline light on the make-believe ground.

The only difference from a real flight deck is that behind the two control seats occupied by the trainees is a seat and a control panel for the trainer. From here the trainer can place the aircraft anywhere in the world at any height and any speed. They can modify the weather conditions, the time of day and the state of the aircraft in terms of potential malfunctions. Trainers also play the simulated roles of air traffic control, firefighters, other aircraft and even cabin crew. It can be quite the acting role.

Simulators are used to endorse a pilot on an aircraft when they are new to it. All pilots need to complete an endorsement on the specific type they are going to fly. Once endorsed, pilots only fly one type of aircraft because the systems and procedures vary in large and subtle ways between each. If they change aircraft, they need to go through endorsement training again.

Boeing, for example, still has a traditional control column with a form of steering wheel, whereas Airbus uses a sidestick, much like a computer joystick. Even swapping between two aircraft from the same manufacturer involves a different flight deck configuration and aircraft systems. Same, same, but still quite different. Flying one aircraft type at a time is the safest way to operate an airline.

An initial aircraft endorsement starts in a simple procedural training device that resembles the flight deck, before moving to the more complex aircraft simulator. Here pilots complete a dozen or so sessions of many hours each, which cover an extensive syllabus to make the trainee familiar with the aircraft in both normal and non-normal operations. A final check needs to be passed in the simulator before the new aircraft type can be added to a pilot’s license.

Simulators are of course also used for ongoing training. All pilots must complete several simulator sessions per year. Over the course of two or three years, a pilot’s ability to handle a matrix of different events is tested and reinforced. These include engine failures, unreliable airspeed, stalling, rapid depressurisation, engine fires and smoke or fume events to name a few.

The extra layer of real-life testing and training comes from the element of surprise. Pilots are not told ahead of time what scenario they will encounter during these ongoing training sessions. They set up for a normal flight and then the trainer will get to work on their control panel introducing challenges which might be as simple as responding to a difficult passenger, or as complicated and dangerous as a full-blown system failure.

And so, while the trainer might be acting, the trainees are not. Pilots walk into a simulator looking to learn and improve – no harm done. But the quality of the technology can make it very easy to forget there are hydraulic jacks underneath and not tens of thousands of feet of clear air. It’s exactly this level of stress which should make passengers feel at ease. That the technology allows the work to be done on the ground – and done over and over again – for an ever-improving safe experience in the skies.