[Alas Babylon!]

From the article: Coping with computer problems is part of routine pilot training. But "pilots only occasionally have the chance to practice" flying a plane with major computer systems down, says John Goglia, a former NTSB member. Part of the reason is because airlines want to reduce training costs by limiting the amount of time pilots practice in simulators.

Uh-oh! The next sound you hear is the mass scurrying of lawyers across the Atlantic!

[El Gato]

Part of the reason is because airlines want to reduce training costs by limiting the amount of time pilots practice in simulators.

Jeez, a major point of using simulators is that they are way, way, cheaper, on a per hour basis, than flying the actual aircraft. Plus of course the trainees can experience conditions that would be risky or impractical to "Set up" in a real aircraft.

But sims are individually pretty expensive. Full motion sims that is. A lot can be done with something not much more sophisticate than microsoft flight sim. (My company used that to build a C-130 procedures trainer. It was pretty cool, they used seat intended for small boats, and other than the controls everything else was pretty much "off the shelf stuff that you could buy at any computer store, or even at WalMart)