The flight simulator as a training aid
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Briefly
A real, working cockpit, with a small piece of the aircraft behind it. A perfect illusion of movement, the image projected by the three projectors does its job, you can feel it in your stomach. Here our small team of laymen are left to their own devices, say 12000 metres above sea level. The automatic pilot is currently flying the route. Still flying. The radio is not working. The task is to land the plane somewhere as quickly as possible, to survive. Is that possible? Maybe not, but still, how close are we to a solution? We'll have a little help, though. Can we use it in a meaningful way?
What is it about?
- How can teambuilding training be extreme, but not a surviving camp, not a surviving tour, not rafting, not mounting, not a military training, not a sight seeing flight, not tandem jumping, not horse riding, not diving, and not any kind of these?
- How can teambuilding training be extreme without the minimal chance of an accident?
- How can teambuilding training be extreme, but not primarily the matter of physical abilities?
Probably there are many varieties of creative answers, like the simulation of a secret service conspiracy situation, or the inner world of a prison. It all depends on our abilities to make this extremity realistic for our participants, make them feel like experiencing an actual situation. For instance we can make the experience of horse riding realistic by using a real horse, just as we would need a real mountain for climbing. The question is what would we use to make piloting realistic? Of course the answer is a real airplane. But that chance of getting a real airplane for teambuilding purposes is quite low. But what if we had a real, working cockpit?
We have one. Where we invite you, or more precisely where we can rent the location and the equipment for our training, we have built not one but two working cockpits of large aircraft types, which are operational and usable, but also under continuous development.
How?
How could a layman connect to this topic?
Boing 737 NG
Or this?
Airbus A320
Or is it perhaps more friendly?
Cessna 172 Skyhawk
How can a lay work in a technically so crowded environment like this? How can a team work here, who otherwise have an excellent cooperation at their everyday workplace?
They can do surprisingly a lot.
This is because the story is not mainly about the technical environment but about the participants themselves and their relationship with each other. Anyhow can they still work as a team? Can they cooperate effectively in an unusual and unexpected situation? Is the team going to fall apart or rather a new, organizing process is about to start in that particular situation, where roles may change from what had been stated in reality. Leader or led? Self-enforcing or co-operating? Who is the competitive one, and who is the avoider? Who is the one looking for compromise, who is more adaptive or the one who rather concentrates on solving problems? Is there a role that is absolutely useless in such an extreme situation, or perhaps each and every form of behavior has its own benefit even between these circumstances? How can they tolerate stress? How can they handle it? Who can act in a conflicting situation and how?
Let’s take a look and than discuss it! Experience the “I never would have thought this about him/her” and then let’s think more about him/her on the next day. Then returning into reality it could possibly turn out about some participants that they are capable of doing more responsible and valuable work.
What would these special situations be?
Who pilots the plane?
Your team including six to eight members is sitting on a plane, coming from a conference or going to one. You have just finished your lunch, and now you are spending your time with reading, talking or napping. For some reason you all chose the same food from the two possible menus and somehow all the other people on the plane chose the other one. Unfortunately this other menu had rotten parts. By the time you would realize this you are the only healthy ones left on board. Before losing her consciousness one of the stewardesses told you that all the pilots are unconscious, lying in the restrooms. The cockpit is empty. Here we are.
First of all are we able to raise the right questions?
Escape from the island
Your small team enjoys their time on a yacht which was provided by your rich company for two or three days as a bonus for your good work or making your negotiations more successful. What happens is that your yacht becomes unusable because of some kind of electronic fire, and now you are drifting helplessly on the sea to the shores of a little island. While the two member staff of the yacht is trying to repair at least the radio, you start to discover the island. It turns out that there is only a runway and a little old hut on it.
Before the hut there are some kerosene barrels and also there is a fuel pump. But what is most important there is an airplane standing on the runway which seems to be ready for fly. Except these the island is empty. There should not be any problem, we have plenty of time, but we discover a strict schedule from which we can figure out that the technicians have just left and the “drug dealer” team is going to arrive tomorrow morning with the hot-goods, obviously using the plane for delivery. In my opinion, if they find you there in the morning…
The question is whether we need to focus on the radio of the plane or the possibility of a take-off? What if the “bad men” arrive sooner than the help? Or we should focus on both, some dealing with one some with the other. What are the right questions anyway?
I won’t tell you twice
This is the case of limited information. Our wounded pilot comes round for a short time, when we can ask questions. But we can also imagine that unfortunately we lost our pilot, whereas fortunately we lost the terrorist too. We have a ruined radio with a bullet in it, sometimes working, sometimes not. In a situation like this what we need is appropriate and goal-oriented questions, then effective actions.
But there is a little help! Actually, not so little, because only by using this help in an appropriate way the task can be solved. I would say that this is what the story is really about, whether we are able to use our available resources, i.e. our own abilities, the cooperation potential of the group and the help in an efficient and coordinated way to achieve the goal.
Location
At the location in South Buda, they created the surroundings of a real airport environment, practically from the moment of enter to get used to the upcoming experiences.
Our recommended trainings:
Group Dynamics
The Flying Escape Room
Coaching
János Geréb
electrical engineer, trainer
"aircraft simulator pilot"
+36 30 9211827
References
Pictures