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two hours of oral review followed by four hours of “Dial-A-Disaster”: an accurate designation used to describe the way in which the simulator instructor/evaluator can select very bad things to happen to you from the control console behind the crew. It’s always nighttime in the sim, you are always in the weather, always in icing conditions, the RVR’s are always 600/400/300, crosswinds are within three knots of the limit and something is always on fire, leaking or about to fail – like a motor, flight controls, hydraulics, pressurization or fuel system. A trip to the vet would be way better.Time spent in briefings and the simulator is used efficiently and productively, practicing everything from engine failures, to windshear to CAT III approaches. The annual changes in training are extremely valuable: lessons learned through ASAP (NASA safety reporting system), mistakes made by pilots around the world and fixes to poorly written procedures. Depending on the age and category of the device, the ability to accurately recreate these lessons, in which the realism and feel of the aircraft is sufficient, varies. Training devices are categorized in accordance with their ability to recreate flight conditions, including aircraft and ground- based systems, weather, wind, sound, motion and malfunctions. Most simulators, and some FTD’s, (Flight Training Devices), recreate instrument flight quite passably – some with more realism than others, and some that the FAA considers accurate enough to be used for qualification and requalification training events. Flight training devices, the ones that don’t move, are classified Level 1 through 7, with 7 being the most sophisticated. Only devices that have motion are called simulators and are classified Level A through Level D.FTD’s by the NumbersRemembering the FTD classi- fications is simple because threeof the FTD levels are no longer in production and level 7 refers to helicopters. That leaves levels 4, 5, and 6 for us fixed wing folks. Level 4 is a part-task-trainer. You can expect to see buttons, knobs, switches and touch-screens that help you learn procedures for instruments or flight management systems and that’s about it. There will be no control yoke, but for anyone transitioning to a new avionics suite, this type of FTD is a blessing. Level 5 represents a class of aircraft (SEL, MEL). At this level, the device is starting to look more like an aircraft; there’s a yoke, for example. Level 6 is accurate for a specific aircraft, including spatial relationships and functions. It uses aerodynamic data and flies with more realism. When motion is added, we can call it a simulator.Sims by the LetterNot many Level A simulators still exist – less than a dozen. They have unsophisticated visual systems and very little data for simulating terrain and airports. One aircraft still using Level A simulators is the Lockheed JetStar, one of the first business jets. Level B barely exists. Level B can give you 80 percent of initial training for a type rating, and 100 percent of recurrent training if the sim has circle-to-land privileges added to its certification. Level C steps a notch higher; there are tighter tolerances on data and the scenery is more accurate. All instrument currency requirements, including a landing and circle-to-land approaches, can be met in this simulator and many pilots use it. Last is Level D and you can do everything in it, including full type ratings. Daylight scenery is a requirement and they have better data and tighter performance tolerances. Other devices and simulators give credit for flight experience, and that includes the approaches, holding, and the navigation portion of the IPC, but you’ll not get credit for a landing unless you’re in a Level C or Level D simulator and only these can be used for a full IPC.By Any Other NameUsing a sim instead of the airplane can generate a significant cost advantage and save on wear-and- tear, not to mention leaving the airplane available for use on the line. The most obvious benefit of the simulator, however, is the Dial- A-Disaster function. We may hate it, but we can safely experience and practice all instrument procedures and some really bad things that would be difficult, or foolish, to recreate in the air. This includes taxiway markings including SMGCS, and some things we seldom experience; stalls, upsets, windshear, icing including tailplane icing, flight control hard-overs and of course the obvious fires, engine failures and emergency descents. Psychologists would tell us that our heightened sense of sight, sound and smell during an event, such as simulator training, is due to apprehension, anxiety and adrenaline – along with our type A, over-achiever desire to succeed, if not excel. If this were not true, would completion of training be as sweet? Though not easy, we should ignore negative reminders like the sounds and smells, and appreciate the skills that modern simulators give us – even if it feels like going to the vet. T&T•Kevin Dingman has been flying for over 40 years. He’s an ATP typed in the B737 and DC9 with 21,000 hours. A retired Air Force Major, he flew the F-16 then performed as a USAF Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officer. He flies volunteer missions for the Christian organization Wings of Mercy, is employed by a major airline, and owns and operates a Beechcraft Duke. Contact Kevin at Dinger10d@ gmail.comNOVEMBER 2015 TWIN & TURBINE • 23