Logging my first AATD simulator time / review of Redbird FMX (+video)

Since the weather and club aircraft have been uncooperative lately, I decided to get some sim time logged.  This was my first time using an approved AATD (advanced aviation training device) of any kind.  This particular model is called the FMX and it is made by the company Redbird, based in Austin TX.  The FMX is a motion platform that can move to simulate flight forces in pitch, roll and yaw.  The sim uses a version of Microsoft's Flight Simulator to generate 180 degrees of visuals on LCD displays.

The particular unit that I trained in was located at Northwest Ohio Flight Training Center, located at the Findlay airport (KFDY).  It rents for $85 per hour ($50 sim / $35 instructor), and I scheduled a block of 2 hours.  The video is an edited version of all the footage I shot that day, as I went through and kept only the most visually interesting bits  You can watch the video here.

The mini-review:

The guys at NOFTC were very accommodating of my requests to start off doing some VFR work in the sim, just to get a feel for the motion system and responsiveness of the controls.  After one hard reboot of the sim, we were soon climbing into the virtual skies above Ohio.  A few minutes were spent getting familiar with the G1000 screens and controls, and having past experience with Microsoft's FSX certainly helped with the transition from the "steam gauges" I am familiar with.  The FMX has LCD screens that mimic the PFD, MFD, and back up instruments. An interchangeable "overlay" panel containing some circuitry and the knobs and buttons for the various instruments, allows the FMX to simulate many different aircraft (with cockpit upgrade kits).  A great advantage over the PC based version of the G1000 is that you can actually start to learn all the correct "knobology" that seems to be a big part of any Garmin based nav/comm/GPS setup.  Flip-flop buttons and soft keys on the bezel were "real" and behaved (except for some extra sensitivity on some of the rotary knobs) just as you would expect them to in the real aircraft.

In terms of the motion aspect of the FMX, I will be completely honest... except for adding an inner ear distraction the motion simulation was not enough of  "added value" to make me seek it out the next time.  The controls have an OK feel to them, but are not force feedback in any way.  The sim is equipped with a real trim wheel, which is nice for building tactile muscle memory for the real thing, but without force feedback you can never trim away control forces like you do in a real aircraft.  Despite being warned about a wing low yoke calibration issue, the sim flew pretty straight.  It was very sensitive in pitch, but I attribute that to the previously mentioned trim issue.

I discovered after this sim session, with a call to Redbird's office, that the instructor station software needed to be upgraded to a newer version to correct two problems I had with the sim.  The first issue had to do with repositioning the aircraft to another, more distant, airport.  The second was how IMC was simulated.  My sim instructor was doing the best he could with the software he had at the time.  Be sure to ask your FMX operator if they have Version 2.2 installed!