QUEENSLAND INGENUITY SET TO STEAL THE SHOW AT AVALON
While selling Queensland’s aviation credentials at the Avalon air show today State Development Minister John Mickel said the fully-operational Full Motion Flight Simulator being displayed at this year’s show, was the closest aspiring pilots could get to the “real thing”.
(Media-Newswire.com) - A Queensland invention is set to steal the show at this year’s Melbourne International Air Show at Avalon.
While selling Queensland’s aviation credentials at the Avalon air show today State Development Minister John Mickel said the fully-operational Full Motion Flight Simulator being displayed at this year’s show, was the closest aspiring pilots could get to the “real thing”.
“This is the first simulator of its type in the world that is incredibly functional, realistic and affordable,” Mr Mickel said.
“For the first time in Australia pilot training operators have access to a superior training tool that can be programmed to simulate not only most aircraft currently in the aviation market but also thousands of airport landscapes.”
Mr Mickel said the Full Motion Flight Simulator designed by Queenslander Emery Williams, a former pilot with over 30 years of experience, in conjunction with his two colleagues, Jeffrey Roll, who provided initial seed funding, and Andrew Jack, who provided the IT expertise, was priced between $200,000 and $250,000.
“That’s highly competitive in today’s market when you consider similar overseas units are priced well over $US 1.2million each,” he said.
Mr Mickel said the Queensland Government had provided crucial assistance to the company formed by Mr Williams and his colleagues, Flight Simulators Asia Pacific, to complete the project.
“Just over a year ago now we provided a grant of $85,000 under our Innovation Start-Up Scheme to Mr Williams and within that time the company has been able to progress to a full working simulator – that’s an incredible achievement,” he said.
“It’s an impressive piece of technology that is also transportable. If you want to experience the future of aviation training in Australia, take a ride.”
Mr Roll said the company had reached verbal agreements to provide a static 737 simulator for the entertainment market and, a Synthetic Flight Trainer for a General Aviation Training School. It has also been invited to submit budgetary pricing for flight simulators for RAAF fighter pilot training and is in the early stages of negotiations to develop a simulator for aircraft pilot training for the Indian market.
The Full Motion Flight Simulator will be on display for the duration of the air show being held at Avalon Airport, Melbourne from 20-25 March 2007.
Company contact: Flight Simulators Asia Pacific, Mr Jeffrey Roll, Marketing Manager. Mobile contact 0410 227 697.
Media contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
This story was released on 2007-03-21. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.