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Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

theglobeandmail.com

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Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#41

Post by jt2190 »

Ah politics. It appears that this story is really about getting more funding for flight time for aviation inspectors.

From TFA:

> Many of Transport Canada’s aviation inspectors, some of whom are licensed pilots, are not able to keep their licences current because Conservative spending cuts imposed in 2011 curtailed their ability to fly government aircraft. He believes the department changed the rules to ensure federal aviation inspectors maintain the proper credentials.

> A CFPA survey of licensed aviation inspectors, conducted in April, found that about half have not been assigned flight training for more than a year and one in 10 has not been assigned to flight training for up to 10 years or more.

> “With the stroke of a pen, Transport Canada has devised a work-around so their own pilots comply with Canadian Aviation Regulations,” Mr. McConnell said. “Aviation inspectors who are pilots are becoming like traffic cops without a driver’s licence. This situation undermines public safety and inspectors’ credibility with the industry they are supposed to oversee.”

Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#42

Post by dleslie »

annerajb wrote: post #7
dleslie wrote: post #5

I built one of these certified simulators; they are not what you will find at most people's desks. We built a cave with a large number of 120Hz 1080 projectors custom modified to sync in tandem to shutter glasses, and used a medical device for sub-millimeter head position tracking. The cockpit was an actual, decommissioned helicopter with working interfaces. It was an incredible experience to build and operate; I nev…

What is the purpose of the head position tracking? Did the aircraft you build the simulator for has some sort of advanced HUD that always shows correctly no matter the position of the pilot head??

Also, when using shutter glasses the best projection is possible when you know the exact position of the viewer. The sense of depth and presence was unlike anything I had experienced; the Vive is sort of a cludgy close experience, but the visual fidelity is nowhere near what we made.

Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#43

Post by revelation »

dleslie wrote: post #10
annerajb wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the purpose of the head position tracking? Did the aircraft you build the simulator for has some sort of advanced HUD that always shows correctly no matter the position of the pilot head??

So it would feel real; you could look out the side window, or shift your weight to look around trees or to get a better view down the side of the helicopter. I work in VR now and honestly nothing comes close to the experience we built.

Theres no acceleration/deceleration, so I'm pretty sure there are many superior systems.

Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#45

Post by _0w8t »

afarrell wrote: post #8

It would be nice if we had either public driving simulators or classes that you could use to improve your driving and response to erratic other drivers. I suspect that the lack of this deliberate training is one reason why driving is much more dangerous than flying. Back when I owned a car, it seemed like all of the classes on driving marketed themselves as either: 1) A totally unchallenging formality that will satis…

In Norway to get a driver license one has to take one-way training where they simulate icy road with field covered with oil. I still remember the feeling when the instructor used hand brake and the car rotated 360 degrees. They also demonstrate how helpful all that modern anti-sliding equipment in cars by disabling it.

Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#46

Post by jdietrich »

fit2rule wrote: post #33
dleslie wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it would feel real; you could look out the side window, or shift your weight to look around trees or to get a better view down the side of the helicopter. I work in VR now and honestly nothing comes close to the experience we built.

>I work in VR now and honestly nothing comes close to the experience we built. This is an interesting statement, because in all the wide sphere of points where VR can be applied, it seems to me that the only place of any 'validity' or .. true social value .. (i.e. not gaming/entertainment) .. is in the realm of training for high-performance/life-critical operator scenarios. Which is not to say that these things can/c…

> in all the wide sphere of points where VR can be applied, it seems to me that the only place of any 'validity'... is in the realm of training for high-performance/life-critical operator scenarios.

We're already seeing socially important applications outside of training. VR is being used as part of treatment for PTSD and phobia; it can provide a very believable experience of a traumatic stimulus in a safe environment. VR may prove to be a powerful tool for psychotherapists.

More broadly, I think we have underestimated the psychological significance of presence. Users respond to convincing VR experiences in a totally different way to other media. This difference seems to be relatively durable and does not fully diminish when the novelty wears off. Pilots in simulators experience real physiological stress, even when they are experienced simulator users.

How would the world change if most of us got our news through VR - if we felt that we were stood in Mosul or Aleppo, flinching at every bang, reflexively crouching down for safety?

>What I mean to say is, why is there such a gap between "work in VR" and "built serious simulator system", in your opinion?

There's a vast difference between a $2000 consumer system and a $2,000,000 simulator. A headset can't approach the fidelity of a real cockpit with real controls and instruments, mounted on a huge hydraulic motion rig. VR technology is constantly advancing, but there will always be a gap between an expensive single-purpose system and a cheap general-purpose system.

Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#47

Post by jdietrich »

afarrell wrote: post #8

It would be nice if we had either public driving simulators or classes that you could use to improve your driving and response to erratic other drivers. I suspect that the lack of this deliberate training is one reason why driving is much more dangerous than flying. Back when I owned a car, it seemed like all of the classes on driving marketed themselves as either: 1) A totally unchallenging formality that will satis…

Here in the UK, we have the Institute of Advanced Motorists. They offer training and assessment to help licensed drivers to become safer drivers.

https://www.iamroadsmart.com/courses

Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#48

Post by mymuss »

This article is factually incorrect. Here's some glaring examples:

> United States and European Union, which still compel pilots to meet stringent standards to keep their licences valid, including a requirement to actually fly a plane.

Not true, at least not in the US. According to 14 CFR 61.56 (i) "A flight simulator or flight training device may be used to meet the flight review requirements of this section"

> There is a whole host of skills you don’t exercise in a simulator

True, but the opposite is also true. I can think of number of scenarios that can be practiced in a sim but cannot be safely or legally practiced in aircraft. Example of such scenario: engine failure in instrument meteorological conditions.

> If you had a heart issue, would you go and see a heart surgeon that hadn’t operated in five years

I wonder if Mr. McConnell is aware that every single line pilot who files B787 or A380 today did all their training for that airframe and passed the rating test in a flight simulator.

The reality is all airline pilots train in flight sims these day. There is no practical way of doing that in actual aircraft. If one can do all their training and pass the license test in a sim why can't they do periodic flight review in a sim?

Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#49

Post by totalZero »

afarrell wrote: post #8

It would be nice if we had either public driving simulators or classes that you could use to improve your driving and response to erratic other drivers. I suspect that the lack of this deliberate training is one reason why driving is much more dangerous than flying. Back when I owned a car, it seemed like all of the classes on driving marketed themselves as either: 1) A totally unchallenging formality that will satis…

Driving classes can reduce your insurance costs in some places. That's an incentive too.

Re: Canadian pilots no longer have to fly real aircraft to keep valid licences

#50

Post by mymuss »

raverbashing wrote: post #3

Simulators are not the problem for renewal, they get increasingly better with time. The problem is relying on automation instead of real piloting skills I trust much more a pilot practicing manual flying in a simulator than doing real flying in "Children of Magenta" mode

What you're saying is absolutely correct but it has nothing to do with the issue being discussed in the linked article.

You can fly in a real aircraft for hours doing nothing but twisting autopilot knobs. OTOH you can practice basic airmanship skills in a sim.

EDIT: sorry, I realized that you were basically saying the same thing.

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