B747-400 Simulator

This FAA-certified “Level D” simulator corresponds to the flight deck in one of today’s most sophisticated airplanes and can interact with the Advanced Concepts Flight Simulator, Vertical Motion Simulator, and FutureFlight Central in real time. The B747-400 simulates all modes of airplane operation – from cockpit preflight to parking and shutdown at the gate.

The simulator’s flight crew compartment is a fully detailed replica of a B747 flight deck, in which all instruments, controls, and switches operate in the same manner as in the actual aircraft. The B747-400 features a digital control loading system, a six-degree-of-freedom synergistic motion system, and a fully integrated autoflight system that provides aircraft guidance and control.

Digital sound systems provide aural cues in the cockpit, while an advanced programmable visual display system offers a 180-degree horizontal / 40-degree vertical field-of-view. The B747-400’s visual databases include SFO, LAX, JFK, DEN, DFW, SEA, ATL, ORD, BOS, and EDW airports.

All of the flight displays can be easily modified. The simulator is also equipped with a weather radar system that includes a wide range of weather models. Weather conditions displayed on the radar screen can accommodate a variety of temperature and barometric pressure changes, altitude changes, and variable wind conditions.

To ensure simulator fidelity, the B747-400 is maintained to the highest possible level of certification established by the FAA for airplane simulators. This guarantees the credibility of results for research conducted.

The B747-400 simulator became operational in the mid-1990s and since its debut has been in continuous use in a range of experiments and demonstrations, such as:

• evaluating Flight Management System departure measures, procedures, and routings;
  
• studying large aircraft carrier flight-tracks relative to Obstacle Free Zone space, dimension requirements, and crew-initiated aborted landings;
  
• determining the effectiveness of classroom training in flight deck automation concepts and skill and assessing the effectiveness of in-flight fatigue countermeasures; and
  
• examining the impact of data link and voice communications procedures, with specific emphasis on the flight crew’s ability to detect and recover from message errors.

Details on projects involving the B747-400 can be found in SimLabs’ Annual Reports, which are available for download in Adobe Acrobat PDF format from our online Library at in the Annual Reports section.

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