Lufthansa Flight Training’s A380 simulator goes into operation

The countdown for the introduction of the first Lufthansa A380 has begun. The aviation group has ordered an initial 15 megaliners and since 2007 has been training pilots to fly this aircraft type. To be qualified to fly an A380, pilots must complete between 60 and 70 hours in a simulator and then fly ten routes during their subsequent line training. In the first phase, 120 pilots will be trained to fly Lufthansa’s first A380, and soon that number will increase to over 400.

Now that the A380 simulator has entered service at Lufthansa Flight Training in Frankfurt, training for prospective A380 pilots can begin. This is the first A380 simulator made by the Franco-British manufacturer to go into operation at Lufthansa. A full-size cockpit of the world’s largest passenger aircraft has been installed inside the simulator. Every instrument, every lamp is positioned exactly as in a real aircraft, with millimetre precision. With a choice of more than 90 routes that can be “flown” at different times of the day, pilots undergoing simulator training can enjoy the sensation of flying the real thing while still firmly on the ground.

From the outside, the simulator may seem rather unimposing. However, inside it contains high technology which, once it goes into operation, produces incredible effects. Sound and motion systems replicate reality so convincingly that that the simulated environment can barely be distinguished from the real world.