Flight Simulation and Aeronautical Education - Ten Years of Experience

The inclusion of flight simulation into the undergraduate aeronautical engineering curriculum has been a major goal at the U.S. Air Force Academy during the past ten years. Specifically, flight simulation has been used in four flight mechanics/design courses with excellent results. Junior and senior-level aeronautical engineering students are provided the opportunity to “fly” and evaluate a variety of aircraft configurations and flight situations. This paper reviews simulation projects that are used in each of the four courses and highlights lessons learned over the past ten years. The integration of flight simulation into these courses has been very effective as an educational tool and has become a strength of our “hand-on” program.