UOWD students 'fly' around Dubai in Emirates flight simulators

The exercise allowed students to experience flight simulators that are used for training commercial pilots around the world. Two hundred engineers, aircraft fitters, hydraulic and electronics technicians are involved in building these simulators which have a list price of approximately US $ 9-16 million.

The students were given a tour of the facilities, including viewing the 11 pods at ECFT which comprised the Airbus, Boeing, Gulfstream, Hawker and helicopter simulators. The students were shown the computer control center, where the software engineers maintain the computer programs to enable the simulators to operate.

Flight simulator engineer Melanie Janelle briefed the students on various aspects of the simulator system and the ECFT workplace environment. Students were then given a lively insight into the life of an IT professional by IT Specialist and Project Manager, Ghassan Hassan.

The highlight of the trip was flying in the simulator. Students were able to take off, fly virtually around Dubai, viewing graphics of landmarks including Sheikh Zayed Road and Emirates Towers, and then land the aircraft.

Students were amazed at the realism of the simulator. "The cockpit was just like a real airplane, and take-off and landing felt frightfully real," said an elated Hina Majeet, student of the Bachelor of Computer Science, UOWD

"It was the most exciting and educational experience I've had during my university life," remarked another student.

CAE provides training solutions to civil and military markets, and develops, designs and manufactures aviation training systems for civil and military applications. CAE's affiliates have operations and training facilities in 19 countries on five continents and 90% of annual revenues are derived from worldwide exports to militaries, commercial airlines, business aircraft operators, aircraft manufacturers.

The field trip, organised by Dr. Catherine Todd, College of Information Technology (IT) at UOWD, was part of the University's efforts to expose students to their future work environments. It gave students an insight into computer science, business management and IT in a workplace environment whilst experiencing a flight simulator first hand. The students had recently studied the topic of real-world simulations, including 3D modelling and virtual reality training systems.