Flight simulators give pilots real training_美文

Flight simulators give pilots real training

Also, the equipment can simulate bad weather, engine failure and other special situations, and teach pilots how to handle them, which training on real fighter jets cannot do, Xie said.

"A fighter plane could cost from tens of millions of yuan to hundreds of millions of yuan. Using fighter jets for special training is unlikely, because people could die and planes could crash, if things are not handled well," he said.

And the special training through a simulator can also prepare fighter pilots to make quicker responses to unexpected situations in real flights.

He recalled that a few years ago, when the navy was equipped with a type of third-generation fighter, a pilot encountered a rare engine failure on the aircraft's first flight.

Fortunately, the previous simulation training had prepared the pilot for such a situation, and he returned safely.

The simulators also allow airmen to practice shooting missiles, which are so expensive that pilots are reluctant to fire them in real aircraft practice, he said.

Researchers in recent years looked to develop new simulation technologies to prepare pilots for air battles.

In one of the latest developments, the institute has developed a system in which pilots can challenge the world's major fighter jets alone or in joint force.

The system took the institute three years to develop, as airmen previously complained to researchers that the rival jets did not seem real in previous simulators, he said.