Flight Simulation: Research Challenges and Flight Crew Assessments of Fidelity

The principal aim of simulation is to provide a platform on which environments or technology, either real or proposed, may be recreated for the purposes of training, visualisation and research. Simulators’ fidelity range widely; some aim to recreate an environment or system to such a high degree that it is difficult to distinguish between the simulator and the real system, while others simply aim to recreate a small part of a system, or to present the system as a whole in a more compact and stylised fashion.. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the technical challenges that face the simulation field as technology and requirements change and evolve. Focusing almost exclusively upon commercial Flight and Flight Systems simulation, it will include the results of a experimental study acquiring user assessments of fidelity, involving ‘Expert Users’ (Captain and Flight Instructor) from a variety of international airlines and who have many hundreds of hours of experience of both the real, operational environment, as well as the simulated equivalent