Located on the second floor of the Library, the professional-grade device gives students and community members an immersive experience with its five screens, a partially enclosed cabin/cockpit, and all of the instruments and controls of a Cessna 182 or 172 aircraft. It also tilts and rotates like a real aircraft.
The state-of-the-art simulator, a GTX MAX Cessna AATD, allows users to fly different models of aircraft, and take off from airports around the world. Aspiring aviators have the opportunity to work with an instructor and log some of the flight hours needed to gain a pilot certificate on this Federal Aviation Administration-certified advanced aviation training device (AATD), which can help satisfy experience requirements for several pilot certificates and ratings.
“Simulators are valuable flight training tools," says computer science professor Dave Marshall, the University’s Aviation Club advisor and pilot. “Using a flight simulator to learn the basics of flying is a safe way to make mistakes. NASA found in a study of simulation used in training for dangerous and complicated skills that it lowers overall training time and increases safety and performance. Learning to fly is expensive, so doing much of your learning in a simulator will lower the cost of learning. And a simulator does not burn any gas so it's also better for the environment.”
AATDs can be particularly beneficial for students to learn fundamentals and cockpit procedures while saving money on flight instruction. This in turn lowers the barrier of entry into aviation, explains Harmony Switzer-Tryon, Aviation Club president.
The club and Library are developing instructional guides so everyone, Humboldt students and the local community, can more easily soar into the virtual skies. The Library Aviation fund will enable student assistants to help introduce everyone to flying this fall.
The simulator‘s arrival on campus was made possible by experienced pilot, alumna, and editor at FLYING MAGAZINE, Meg Godlewski (‘87, Journalism). Godlewski has been a flight instructor for 20 years and specializes in the use of AATDs to reduce the learning curve.
The GTX Max is the University’s second simulator. The first, a desktop gaming sim, was funded and built by the campus PC Gaming Club in 2019. Its augmented reality allows students to learn the rudiments and motor skills of piloting, however, it does not allow users to log flight hours like the GTX.
When Godlewski learned that the University’s Aviation Club was interested in a more advanced device than its first simulator, she jumped into action. “As luck would have it, I was working on an article about the use of AATDs and that put me in contact with several manufacturers,” Godlewski explains. The connections she formed helped her facilitate the GTX Max’s arrival on campus.
“As a journalism student at Humboldt I learned tenacity—never to be afraid to ask for something, because if you don't ask, the answer will automatically be ‘no,’” Godlewski says. “The connections you make become your resources—-you find people who share your interests and passions, and all sorts of doors can open for you.”
While similar devices can be found at flight schools, the Cal Poly Humboldt Library’s Hall of Simulation is a welcome home for such immersive technologies as the flight simulator, fire simulation table, digital dissection, and an upcoming Digital Wall, says Cyril Oberlander, Library dean. “The Library as a learning environment is filled with inspiring stories, and the flight simulator is one that nicely combines adventure and skill building, alongside the collection of inspiring books,” he adds. ”The Library welcomes everyone to access the latest simulation technology.”
For more information about the simulator, visit library.humboldt.edu/flight. To donate to the Library Aviation fund or others, giving.humboldt.edu.