An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are involved in operating the aircraft's navigation and engine systems. Other aircrew members, such as drone operators, flight attendants, mechanics and ground crew, are not classified as aviators.
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of flight controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc. Flight simulation is used for a variety of reasons, including flight training, the design and development of the aircraft itself, and research into aircraft characteristics and control handling qualities.
St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport is a public/military airport in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay Area. It is right on the northeast municipal boundary of Pinellas Park, 9 miles (14 km) north of downtown St. Petersburg, 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Clearwater, and 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Tampa.
L3 Technologies, formerly L-3 Communications Holdings, was an American company that supplied command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C3ISR) systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, aerospace, and navigation products. Its customers included the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, United States Intelligence Community, NASA, aerospace contractors, and commercial telecommunications and wireless customers. In 2019, it merged with Harris Corporation to form L3Harris Technologies.
The term Link Trainer, also known as the "Blue box" and "Pilot Trainer" is commonly used to refer to a series of flight simulators produced between the early 1930s and early 1950s by Link Aviation Devices, founded and headed by Ed Link, based on technology he pioneered in 1929 at his family's business in Binghamton, New York. During World War II, they were used as a key pilot training aid by almost every combatant nation.
Phoenix Goodyear Airport is a public airport in Goodyear, Arizona in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States.
A synthetic vision system (SVS) is a computer-mediated reality system for aerial vehicles, that uses 3D to provide pilots with clear and intuitive means of understanding their flying environment.
CAE Oxford, part of CAE Inc., is an ab initio flight training network. It provides integrated aviation training and resourcing services. Professional airline pilots have been trained at the Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA) flight school since 1961.
Pan Am Flight Academy is an aviation school that specializes in training airlines, pilots and aviation professionals from around the world. It is the only remaining division of Pan American World Airways, which declared bankruptcy in January 1991 and shut down in December of that year. Under the terms of the bankruptcy, the flight academy was allowed to remain open independently. It is presently owned by the holding company of All Nippon Airways.
The Civil Aviation Flight University of China is the national civil flight training university of China, headquartered in Guanghan, Sichuan, China. It is owned by the Civil Aviation Administration of China and co-funded by the Sichuan Provincial People's Government.
CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Brussels - Sabena Flight Academy is an aviation training organisation created in 1953, and located in Steenokkerzeel (Belgium). The school is now part of CAE Global Academy. The training is performed in Brussels, in Mesa at CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix . Sabena Flight Academy is one of the oldest airline transport pilot schools in Europe.
A flight simulation video game refers to the simulation of various aspects of flight or the flight environment for purposes other than flight training or aircraft development. A significant community of simulation enthusiasts is supported by several commercial software packages, as well as commercial and homebuilt hardware. Open-source software that is used by the aerospace industry like FlightGear, whose flight dynamics engine (JSBSim) is used in a 2015 NASA benchmark to judge new simulation code to space industry standards, is also available for private use. A popular type of flight simulators video games are combat flight simulators, which simulate combat air operations from the pilot and crew's point of view. Combat flight simulation titles are more numerous than civilian flight simulators due to variety of subject matter available and market demand.
GSE Systems, Inc. develops and markets software-based simulation and training products to nuclear, oil, and gas electricity generators, and the chemical process industries. It also sells software for monitoring and optimizing plant and signal analysis to the power industry.
Corporate contract pilot is a classification of pilot in general aviation. A corporate pilot is classified as a pilot who flies private business aircraft. A corporate pilot can be type-rated or certified in multiple types of business aircraft and may fly Part 135 and Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. A corporate contract pilot is a corporate pilot that flies on a contract basis.
ATP Flight School is the largest flight training company in the United States. The curriculum focuses on airline-oriented pilot programs at locations across the country. ATP is the leading supplier of professionally trained pilots to the nation's regional airlines.
Link Aviation Devices was a manufacturer of aircraft simulators. The company is most notable for inventing the Link Trainer, and is credited with starting the flight simulator industry. It is currently a subsidiary of CAE Incorporated.
CAE Phoenix is an aviation school owned by CAE and located in Mesa at Falcon Field Airport. A former subsidiary of Sabena Flight Academy, the school has previously trained students including those of Air Algérie, SFA, Nationale Luchtvaartschool (NLS), Turkish Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, EVA Air, British Airways, Southwest Airlines, Japan Airlines, jetBlue, American Airlines, Emirates, EasyJet, CityJet, IndiGo, Aeromexico and AirAsia.
TRU Simulation + Training is an American manufacturer of flight simulators and training devices for civil and military markets. It is a subsidiary of Textron and was formed in 2014 when previously acquired simulator manufacturers Mechtronix and OPNICUS were merged with part of Textron Systems division. A further company, business jet training provider ProFlight, was acquired and merged later that year.
Urban air mobility (UAM) is the use of small, highly automated aircraft to carry passengers or cargo at lower altitudes in urban and suburban areas which have been developed in response to traffic congestion. It usually refers to existing and emerging technologies such as traditional helicopters, vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (VTOL), electrically propelled vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These aircraft are characterized by the use of multiple electric-powered rotors or fans for lift and propulsion, along with fly-by-wire systems to control them. Inventors have explored urban air mobility concepts since the early days of powered flight. However, advances in materials, computerized flight controls, batteries and electric motors improved innovation and designs beginning in the late 2010s. Most UAM proponents envision that the aircraft will be owned and operated by professional operators, as with taxis, rather than by private individuals.
Marc Parent is a French-Canadian business executive, mechanical engineer, and philanthropist. He has been the president and chief executive officer of CAE since 2009.
US$4.2 billion (2023)