the concorde simulator

THE CONCORDE SIMULATOR
The Concorde Simulator was originally constructed
in 1975 at a cost of £3 million (£20 million at today’s
prices) and based at the British Aircraft Corporation
facility at Filton, near Bristol. It was designed and
built jointly by Redifon Flight Simulation, who provided
the computer system and Singer’s Link-Miles division
who manufactured the cockpit at their factory in
Lancing, East Sussex.
The Simulator originally stood on a six axis motion
system consisting of large hydraulic rams. In its original
form the view out of the cockpit windows was generated
from a small TV camera moving over a giant model
landscape that was fixed to the wall in an adjacent
room. The images from this camera were then projected
onto a large screen in front of the cockpit windows.
In 1987 the Simulator was upgraded, at a further
cost of £3 million, which brought it in line with the
very best simulators around the world at the time.
The upgrade included an intricate, collimated
projection system which ultimately gave pilots an
infinitesimal 150 degree view of the computergenerated landscape.
The Concorde Simulator at Filton in the late 1970s
Once inside the cockpit, British Airways crews being
trained on the Simulator would immediately feel like
they were on the flight deck of a real Concorde, the
instrumentation, lighting and functionality of the
systems matching their real-world counterparts.
The simulator was operated by technicians who could
programme the system with artificial fuel and
passenger loads, weather variations, determine
whether it was day or night and generate a myriad of
aircraft system failures for the pilots to deal with. Every
emergency procedure was practiced to perfection.
Single or double engine failure, cabin pressurisation
failure, followed by emergency descent, and failure of
the fly-by-wire flying controls were typical examples of
the procedures learnt.
The Concorde Simulator was not as advanced as today’s
more modern simulators and as such it was not
‘zero-flight-time’. Zero-flight-time simulators allow
converting pilots to carry out their very first flight in
the real aircraft with passengers (albeit under the
supervision of a highly experienced training Captain!)
whereas Concorde crews still had to practice in the
real thing first before carrying passengers … not that
they would have complained!
The simulator training course lasted a total of 76 hours 19 x 4-hour sessions; and in the 28 years it was in service,
134 British Airways pilots and 57 flight engineers were
trained on it.
The Move to Brooklands
When Concorde operations ceased at the end of
2003, British Airways decommissioned the Filtonbased simulator and it was subsequently loaned to
Brooklands Museum. In 2004 it was transported
to the Museum in two halves - the pilots’ seats and
controls in one half and the engineer’s panel and
instructors’ station in the other!
The plan was to get the simulator flying again, albeit in
a fixed-base configuration, to enable it to be located at
ground level enabling access to a Concorde cockpit for
less able visitors to the museum.
Restoration of the Concorde Simulator
at Brooklands Museum
The project to get the Simulator operational again was
a joint venture between the University of Surrey and
EPSRC (the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council). It involved the integration of the existing
simulator cockpit with modern flight simulation software.
This was initially engineered by XPI Simulation, and its
functionality greatly enhanced subsequently by Museum
volunteers from both sides of the English Channel!
The restored Concorde Simulator
at Brooklands Museum
The simulated environment is achieved via 3 modern
projectors onto a large screen in front of the cockpit
windows. Concorde is ‘flown’ using the original flight
and systems controls inside the simulator; this includes
the control columns, trim switches, rudder pedals,
throttles, reheat switches, landing gear lever, parking
brake plus the droop nose and visor selector.
In addition to all of this, the majority of the unique cockpit
instruments, including the famous Machmeter, are also
operational. In 2011, several sections of the Flight
Engineer’s panel were brought back to life as well,
allowing Concorde’s complicated fuel control system
to be demonstrated once again.
The only Concorde Simulator in the World
open to the public
On April 9, 2009 the restored Concorde Simulator was
officially opened by Richard Noble. former World Land
Speed Record holder. Subject to operational constraints,
it is open daily for viewing in demonstration mode.
Furthermore, members of the public can book
special At The Controls of Concorde events to sit in the
Captain’s seat and fly under instruction from a former
British Airways Concorde pilot. These take place on
specific dates during the year and full details can be
viewed here.
Flying Concorde at Brooklands Museum
under instruction from a British Airways Concorde Pilot