Alenia Aeronautica Inaugurates First C-27J Full Flight Simulator to the Italian Air Force

19 November 2010 -- Alenia Aeronautica today inaugurated the first C-27J full flight simulator to the Italian Air Force during an official ceremony held at its base in Pisa.

The simulator, which is the first in the world specifically designed for training the crews of the C-27J Spartan tactical military transport aircraft, was built according to precise air force specifications using innovative systems that ensure the most realistic training experience possible.

The C-27J air force full flight simulator is a cutting-edge system for the basic and advanced training of crews, at a very competitive operating cost compared with training in actual aircraft, as it complements inflight activities with no loss of training value.

The simulator consists of an exact replica of the C-27J cockpit, fitted with equipment that accurately simulates the aircraft’s aeromechanical and avionic features and performance. This is placed within a virtual environment that reproduces the external environment, weather and tactical conditions, providing the pilots with all the stimuli (sights, sounds, touch and acceleration) that they would encounter during an actual flight in the Spartan.

The C-27J air force full flight simulator allows for all operational standard procedures to be reproduced and tactical missions executed (generating virtual allied and enemy operatives), as well as for the reconstruction, in a safe environment, of the full range of emergencies set out in the aircraft flight manual and flight training using NVIS (night vision imaging system) visors.

Another key element of the simulator is its visual system: the external scenario is reproduced using a geographical database which covers the whole of the Italian national territory, created by using highdefinition satellite photography, with 1-metre resolution in many areas. The database, which is processed by software owned by Alenia Aeronautica, is created by using high-definition systems with a visual field of 180° horizontal coverage and 45° (+20°/-25°) vertical coverage.

To perfect the illusion of a real flight, linear and angular acceleration effects are reproduced in correlation with the situation in virtual flight, which is projected onto the visual system by a motion system that can move the simulator's nearly 10,000 kg of weight around in space.

Inside the C-27J air force full flight simulator, an instructor’s station is also provided, which is a management console of touch-screen monitors mounted on a command panel with wireless controls on a tablet PC, giving the instructor and observers maximum flexibility and comfort during the exercise. The simulator also has a calculation system - the ‘brain’ - where flight simulation models and all applications implementing the various functions available to users are executed. This computerized device, which coordinates the action of the various systems, was designed by Alenia Aeronautica using high-performance architecture that is easy to maintain.

The C-27J air force simulator also allows for training sessions to be linked to other simulators at the same base or at other sites. This means that pilots in the simulator cabin can ‘see’ other pilots taking part in the same exercise as aircraft present in the same virtual space, and can interact with them, communicate with them by radio and execute coordinated operations, just as they can in real life.




Alenia Aeronautica