[HN Gopher] A working flight simulator, no computers necessary [...
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A working flight simulator, no computers necessary [video]
Author : sohkamyung
Score : 105 points
Date : 2022-07-05 09:58 UTC (13 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.youtube.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.youtube.com)
| sithadmin wrote:
| My father used to work at Link (Singer at the time, technically)
| and later CAE-Link. His office had a 'Blue Box' trainer in the
| lobby. It was supposed to be a museum piece, but his management
| was known to look the other way when employees brought their kids
| in after hours or on the weekend to sit in the trainer. Kid 'ride
| alongs' in the motion base simulators on site weren't officially
| condoned, but happened a lot too.
|
| Didn't realize how lucky I was to have such experiences until
| much later in life.
| bgribble wrote:
| As a schoolkid in 1970's Lubbock, TX we got to visit Reese AFB
| where they did jet training on the T37 and T38. The simulator
| room had a set of enormous landscape dioramas, my recollection is
| that they were something like 20 feet by 20 feet. The simulator
| would "fly" a camera over the diorama. There was a cockpit on
| hydraulic actuators. I don't remember what the display looked
| like (or even if I got to see it), but I do remember those huge
| dioramas and thinking how funny it would be if you "crashed" into
| a spiderweb on the simulator :)
| CmdrKrool wrote:
| Thread of pilots reminiscing about these simulators including
| common japes of putting spiders or kids' toys on the landscape.
| Don't miss post #4 for a cool video:
|
| https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/499352-military-fli...
| KineticLensman wrote:
| The Lunar Module simulator used by Apollo astronauts used a
| similar technique.
| daly wrote:
| I gave my friend an hour in the link trainer for his retirement.
| He tried to take off, enter the approach, and land. 45 minutes
| later he failed. When he stepped out of the trainer he had sweat
| so much he looked like he took a shower.
|
| I got a turn after him. Just a simple task, take off, enter the
| approach, and "follow the needles" back to the runway. I managed
| to get it down on the grass parallel to the runway. I also looked
| like I had taken a shower.
|
| The wild part is that (a) it feels REAL and (b) they added
| weather while I was flying.
|
| I want one of these at home.
| capableweb wrote:
| How do you "follow the needles" when the machine has no screens
| and I guess all you have is communication is with a person
| outside the machine who tells you where you are? Normally,
| you'd have a visual on the runway when you land, so I can
| understand its much more difficult when you're sitting in a
| dark box with someone just instructing you what to do. Flying
| by instrument is really really hard, especially if you have
| zero training.
|
| > they added weather while I was flying
|
| This I don't understand, like they spray water on you when
| you're in the cockpit or how was this implemented?
| monkeywork wrote:
| Adding weather is likely extra wind and reduced "visual" to
| the ground
| capableweb wrote:
| > reduced "visual" to the ground
|
| But there is no "visual" in the first place in the "Link
| Trainer".
|
| You mean that the gauges start showing false/modified
| values than what they really should? Or that the outside
| instructor fuddles with the instructions they give you?
| pengaru wrote:
| Does the blue box have any ventilation? The video makes it look
| like a hot box.
| deelowe wrote:
| Tom said all of the gauges are non-functional. That would seem
| impossible. Not sure what the point is without them except as a
| mechanical curiosity.
| NovemberWhiskey wrote:
| Yes, it's sadly quite pointless without.
| jacobkg wrote:
| I couldn't tell from the video, what do you see inside the link?
| Just the gauges? Is the idea to simulate flying in total darkness
| or cloud cover?
| NovemberWhiskey wrote:
| When it was working, it apparently had your typical six-pack of
| steam gauges.
|
| The one that the Youtuber was looking at had all the gauges
| removed because they had radium paint; honestly, without the
| gauges it's really only a good demonstrator of how it's
| completely futile to try to fly a plane without visual cues or
| instruments due to somatogyral and somatogravic illusions of
| the vestibular system.
| skybrian wrote:
| Yes, this kind of training is for flying by instrument, which
| is quite hard. That's why they needed simulators.
|
| When I was taking flying lessons, for one session the
| instructor had me wear a visor so I could only see the
| instrument panel for a while, and then try holding a course. I
| believe it's mostly just to demonstrate that you shouldn't try
| it until you're trained for it.
| griffinkelly wrote:
| There's one of these in Cleveland at the Air & Space Museum
| sokoloff wrote:
| For FAA pilots, I can heartily recommend ATOP for an airline
| 2-day intro, including sim time.
|
| I did the 737 course when it was at United and it was some of the
| best fun/interest per dollar and hour.
|
| http://www.atopjets.com/ (no affiliation other than long-ago
| satisfied customer)
| nodesocket wrote:
| I've been playing a lot of flight simulator 2020 lately. Besides
| it looking absolutely amazing with photo realistic terrain,
| scenery, and water it is very detailed and accurate.
|
| So much so, that I would feel comfortable if in a pinch,
| attempting landing a handful of the planes I have been flying in
| FS. Full disclosure, I also do have around 4 hours logged with an
| instructor as well so it's not like I have zero real-life flight
| experience.
| lsh123 wrote:
| Just to clarify, this is an instrument flight training device,
| not a primary trainer. The benefit of moving the trainer as pilot
| moves controls is to recreate similar illusions to the ones found
| when flying in instrument conditions and teach the pilot to rely
| on instruments instead of the pilot's senses.
| eurasiantiger wrote:
| An analog computer is still a computer :)
| kwhitefoot wrote:
| Not in the modern sense of a programmable device that can
| straightforwardly solve logic problems.
| TylerE wrote:
| Is this really that different from a niche ASIC board or
| something?
| EvanAnderson wrote:
| All computers compute but not all computers are general
| purpose.
| marcodiego wrote:
| Why it spins continually?
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(page generated 2022-07-05 23:00 UTC)