New flight simulator at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Changes are underway at the Purdue University Airport.  New technology is going in and the old is going out.

This is Purdue's newest flight simulator.  These students are taking us to Las Vegas without ever leaving the building.

"Purdue's just always been known for such a reputable flight program and part of that is training our future pilots for real world experience, so this is just another example of how Purdue does that," said Purdue student Nathan Welch.

Senior Nathan Welch has dreamed of being a pilot for the United States Air Force, but a big problem stood in his way.

"I was told that I was color blind, failed almost every vision test that I took. And, just in the past couple of years, by the grace of God, I've been able to pass.  And, have been cleared full medically for Air Force flight," said Welch.

Welch said only about 7% of students in his class are accepted into the Air Force Academy.

"My grandfather was a pilot, B25's in World War II so it's just a great honor to be following his footsteps," said Welch.

He knows his training at Purdue will have him ready to go this summer.

"The automation is very realistic to real life, all the controls and navigation displays that you see here is very realistic that you would see in a plane today.  It's a really great training tool," said Welch.

The new simulator came in March, and prior to that, students use a full motion simulator.

"It can do a lot of gyrations and motions. It really does give you the feeling like you're in the actual airplane," said Wulle.

Aviation Technology Professor Bernie Wulle says changing technology has made the two older simulators outdated.

"There hasn't been a whole lot of change in the aviation industry for 40-50 years, but now things seem to be changing almost every six months," said Wulle.

Welch said the new simulator, which can take you to any airport in the world, compared to the old is like night and day.

"You're using older technologies and the former simulator and in this one you can see everything you see in here is different.  Especially all the displays. The interaction is probably the biggest in this simulator," said Wulle.
 

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