As aviators, we take for granted that FAA regulations ensure flight safety, so you might assume they apply to all Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTDs)—both military and commercial. However, it’s not that simple.
Device Qualification ensures FSTDs meet FAA standards, guaranteeing that FSTDs provide the fidelity required to maximise the value of an aircrew-training syllabus. Managed by the FAA National Simulator Program, the standards live within the 14 CFR Part 60, which:
- Prescribes the governing rules and framework for initial and continuing device qualification
- Defines the governing regulations for the use of FSTDs to meet training, evaluation, and flight experience
- Specifies the methods and requirements for achieving qualification devices of a specific fidelity
- Covers continued device fidelity assurance management
The FAA’s authority in oversight, legislation, and regulation in commercial aviation is broad, so civilian FSTDs are traditionally designed to meet these standards. Still, the 14 CFR Part 60 is not always considered in military aircraft design. This creates a gap in realising full device potential and maximising operational outcomes and safety.
PAC helps clients realise this potential through the customised application of FAA processes, tools and procedures that focus on safety, currency, and fidelity. This results in a personalised approach to simulator acquisition, development, acceptance testing, and ongoing fidelity management—which is why we’ve created the Methods of Simulation Course (MoS).
We work with our instructors, who have extensive FAA, commercial, and military experience, to customise a course curriculum to your unique learning objectives—from initial device qualification to ongoing practical, tactical training. MoS focuses on the operational application and delivers a more robust, high-quality training result.
If you want to see how MoS works in real life, you still have time to enrol
in our 5-day course—scheduled from 25 to 29 April. Click here for more details.
