Frasca Adds New Tech To Level B Sims

Cruising along at 100 feet agl with the sun reflecting back off the water into the pilot’s eyes might make any helicopter pilot forget they’re flying a simulator. Frasca International’s new 407GX full flight simulator (FFS) boasts FAA level B approval, as well as EASA level B simulator and EASA level 3 flight training device (FTD) credentials.

Bell Helicopter’s Training Academy in Fort Worth, Texas, recently took delivery of the first 407GX FFS, which comes standard with a 3-D graphics system brought to life using Frasca’s TruVision global visual display. The 407GX’s display can reproduce a 200- by 80-degree field of view and includes infrared projectors to create a solid night vision goggle training platform. When training options demand a specific layout, the new 407GX can be switched between the legacy avionics configuration and the Garmin G1000 by exchanging panel assemblies.

Frasca (Booth N4407) said pilots will experience more life-like simulation with the FFS system’s six-axis motion, made possible with 62-inch actuators and a secondary six-axis TruCue vibration system. TruCue provides critical vestibular feedback to pilots, creating the cues necessary for pilots to react naturally to motion signals during maneuvers. The TruCue system also reduces instructor fatigue by isolating the instructor station from other simulator vibrations.

Frasca’s 3-D graphics system is the heart of the 407GX simulator and creates a realistic training platform for tough missions such as oil platform or high-altitude rescue operations.

A shipboard or oil rig landing is one of the most difficult arrival and departure tasks in a helicopter due to the lack of available reference points, especially when a shipboard helideck may be rolling or heaving. Imagine landing on elevated helipads, a mountain pinnacle or some other narrow landing zone when it’s difficult to evaluate the terrain elevation below. The texture of the top of a pinnacle, for example, is perceived in 3-D and used to create the situational awareness necessary to show the correct height above the ground at touchdown. The perception provided by 3-D also opens training possibilities, including a generic texture mapped onto a mountain polygon sloped at 45 degrees, which builds an accurate reproduction of the toe-in maneuver, including skid contact, while the pilot must keep the rotor disk clear of the upslope.

Also new to Frasca’s simulator line is SimAssist, a software module that measures the pilot’s task proficiency in real-time. It also continuously adapts to the student's proficiency level by ensuring no task is too difficult, nor too easy.This system is useful for pilots learning new tasks, but can also help experienced pilots adapt more quickly to a fixed-based FTD, thus maximizing the training potential of the device.At the instructor's discretion, the system can also provide active or passive assistance, record the student's proficiency over time and provide real-time feedback to the instructor.

Recent Frasca wins include a contract for a level 5 Robinson R44 FTD from Central Oregon Community College in Bend, Ore. This simulator includes TruVision and the TruFeel control loading system and a helicopter missions database for the state of Oregon.

The first level 5 helicopter simulator delivered in China has received approval from China’s regulators (CAAC). This simulator is a convertible Frasca TruFlite R44/Schweizer S300 and includes TruVision. The simulator was purchased by Xilin Fengteng GA Corporation ofGuanghang, which provides helicopter pilot training, business transportation and air-medical services.

Another China company, Shandong Hairuio General Aviation of Binzhou city, has ordered two Frasca level 5 Cessna 172S FTDs. The company operates four Cessna 172s and is a Cessna authorized sales and service provider.

Denver-based Metro State University added two Frasca C172 Mentor advanced FTDs at its Aviation and Aerospace Science Department, bringing the university’s total number of Frasca simulators to 22. These include a level 1 Citation Mustang FTD with G1000 avionics, graphical instructor station, NIFA scoring module, TruVision and TruSound.