We're Uniquely Qualified to Help You Add Highly Immersive FAA Approved Simulation to Your Flight Training Program
There are many companies selling flight simulators today. Here's why we're different.
We Have Decades of Experience
While some of our competitors are just getting started, our team has been designing, developing, and integrating flight simulation software and hardware for almost 30 years.
We were pioneers in the development of PC-based flight simulation software in the 1990s, and we created many award-winning aircraft, scenery, and tools. We didn’t just witness a revolution in flight simulation technology: we helped ignite it.
Flight1 Aviation Technologies has developed many popular products, including avionics courseware, Avidyne and Garmin avionics simulations, instructor station software, simulation hardware, and scenario-based training tools.
Today, while many of our competitors have large catalogs of products for many different types of customers, our focus is a narrow one: to build the best G1000-based AATDs on the market.
Our Customers Trust Us
Our customers are some of the most discriminating flight school owners, university aviation program directors, and individual pilots we’ve ever met. They value their time and money and demand the very best. Some have been burned by companies that made big promises in their marketing materials but didn’t deliver. Others have been burned by features that don’t work like they do in the airplane–or at all.
Our customers trust our advice, they trust the quality and durability of our workmanship, they trust the fidelity of the simulation experience we provide, and they trust our unwavering commitment to customer support.
Our Focus is On Quality Not Quantity
A flight simulator is a significant investment, and our customers need us to be around for the long haul. Many of our fast-moving competitors have collapsed under the weight of fancy ads, razor thin margins, and a part-time staff.
We survive where many others have failed because we hand build our simulators one at a time and we don’t sell individual components. Our focus isn’t on the number of products we sell. It’s on the quality of the long-term relationships we have with our customers, and on the quality of the simulators we design and build for them.
We Go Far Beyond What's Required to Receive FAA Approval
Our simulators meet the FAA's requirements for Advanced Aviation Training Devices (AATDs). But we don't stop there.
Software
The software in our Cirrus and Piper AATDs works together to create a realistic, accurate, and highly immersive training experience:
- A core flight simulation software development platform created by Lockheed Martin includes worldwide scenery, almost 25,000 airports, a modifiable real-time weather system, continuous time of day, seasons, and a variety of lighting effects. We’ve been developing software for this platform from its beginning, and we know how to go far beyond what most developers can accomplish.
- Proprietary avionics simulation software replicates G1000 NXi and Perspective+ features and functionality with exacting detail, so students can truly train like they fly. Unlike some of our competitors, we don’t need to make excuses—features like synthetic terrain, charts, taxi charts, ADS-B, TAWS, VNAV, and WAAS work just like pilots expect. And the software includes updatable Jeppesen NXi navigation and facility data.
- Flight models we create ourselves ensure that the simulator behaves like the airplane. We use POH data, our decades of experience, and extensive in-house testing. Because we don’t rely on third-party aircraft simulations, changes and improvements are at our discretion.
- Our best-in-class touchscreen Instructor Operator Station (IOS) provides complete control of the environment, weather, aircraft positioning, and failures. Many of our competitors just provide customers with the generic IOS that comes with their core simulation software. We’ve spent 15 years developing our own instructor station software, and instructors love using it.
- Our integration software pulls all the other software together into one cohesive unit. This allows us to make custom enhancements that improve the accuracy of the flight and avionics simulations.
Controls
The flight, system, and avionics controls in our AATDs are custom-made, professional-grade hardware (not consumer off-the-shelf products like many of our competitors use):
- Proprietary, aircraft-specific hardware realistically simulates Cirrus and Piper cockpit components to build muscle memory and minimize negative transfer of skill.
- High fidelity flight controls are engineered for heavy use in a professional training environment. With no lag, no null zones, and no slop, students can easily hand fly the most intricate instrument approaches.
- A Cirrus CAPS system with realistic 45 lbs. of force handle functionality allows the pilot to feel what they would feel if they had to pull the handle in a real emergency. The system is more than eye candy: it trains muscle memory and is built to withstand the rigors of repeated deployment in busy high-volume flight schools.
Computers
The three computers in our AATDs are custom high-end PCs networked together to share the significant processing power required by our simulators:
- A high-performance flight simulation computer ensures the outside display never lags behind the control inputs, providing the same stutter-free experience you have in an airplane.
- An avionics computer manages the G1000 displays and functionality.
- A dedicated Instructor Operator Station (IOS) computer manages simulator operation, positioning, weather, and failures.
But Don’t Take Our Word for It
Before you purchase a flight simulator, do your homework. Make a list of the scenarios you hope to simulate and the features required. Then compare that list against the features offered in a given solution. Don’t be seduced by how a simulator looks—take the time to uncover what you can do with it.
Use our customer map to locate a Flight1 Tech AATD near you. Book some time flying it … and see for yourself why we’re different.
Download a Features Comparison Checklist that makes it easy to compare our AATDs with the competition.
To discuss how our simulators can help make your unique goals a reality, contact us.