| Project Title | AIRBUS A340 Project |
| Project Type | International open source cooperative development project |
| Project Sponsor | Ministry of Education, The Netherlands |
| Project Goal | Development of a low cost Airbus A340 flight simulator to be used for research, education or entertainment. |
| Project Location | Haarlem, The Netherlands |
The Project History
The roots for the idea for the foundation of the Institute for Simulation Research and Development lays at the Aerospace Technology Department of the Haarlem University of Professional Education. The initial research and development work started when a couple of students came with the idea of converting an old Fokker F-28 airliner cockpit into a PC based flight simulator .
The budget available was limited; thus the group was forced to use off-the-shelf products as much as possible and to improvise where necessary. A lot of research and development work went into the project and the project became a success. The cockpit was fully functional, controlled by a range of pc's which are connected by a hardware interface system and network.
In the mean time, the number of participating simulator enthusiasts kept growing, and because the goals of the Fokker F-28 project where accomplished, the group began searching for a new challenge.
This challenge was found when pictures showed up about a man in Switzerland, named Peter O. Dickenmann, who is building his own Airbus A340 flight simulator cockpit at this home.
The cockpit is being built with panels produced by two small companies in Canada and the U.S.A. These panels are exact working replicas of the real panels used in the Airbus A340 .
When the goals were set, it was realized that other universities and research institutions might also be interested a low-cost solution. Therefore, proposals were made to several universities, research institutions and companies throughout Europe to cooperatively develop a low-cost A340 flight simulator.
The Project Goals and Specifications
This goal of this project is to cooperatively develop a low cost Airbus A340 flight simulator for educational en research applications.
The project is fully open which holds that any university, institution or company from any country can participate in the project.
Every
participator can indicate in which part of the project it wants to participate.
For
the compatibility of the software developed, conventions will be made for the
source code, documentation etc.
At
all times, any type of information like
conventions , progress reports, sourcecodes, technical drawings etc as well as
the final results will be available on the project website.
The
general speficications for the A340 simulator are :
Full
replica of the Airbus A340 cockpit
PC
based
LINUX
based
OpenGL
based
Mathematical
Routines in FORTRAN 77
Supporting Routines in ANSI C
The
benefits of this project are as follows:
Stimulates
international cooperation
Stimulates
the cooperation between companies and Universities
By
cooperation , the development time and costs are reduced to a minimum for
the participators.
By
making the knowledge and software available in the internet, “re-inventing
the wheel” is prevented.
For
the first time , an interuniversity standardized research and development
simulation platform is formed.
The Simulator in detail
The Simulator is divided into the following main sections.
1- Overhead panel
2- Glareschield panel
3- Main Instrument Panels
4- Pedestal
5- Sidestick Areas
The Overhead Panel
The picture below shows the overhead panel produced for IRADIS by Peter Cos (A320project).
Photo Courtesy of Peter Cos, Canada
The Glareschield panel
The picture below shows the glareschield construction made by Robert Heuveling. The panels are produced by Advanced Graphic Technologies in the United States.
Photo Courtesy of IRADIS, The Netherlands
Photo Courtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
Photo Courtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
The Main Instrument Panel
The Main Instrument Panel consist of three parts.
Photo Courtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
Photo Courtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
The Pedestal
The Pedestal is not finished yet. The give an impression how the end product will look like the picture below shows the pedestal of Peter Dickenmanns home-built A340 flight simulator.
Photo courtesy of Peter Dickenmann, Switzerland
The pictures below show the A340 Throttle lever produced by A-G-T for IRADIS. The Throttle Quadrant is due to arrive in August 2001.
Photocourtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
Photocourtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
Photocourtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
Photocourtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
Photo Courtesy of Advanced Graphic Technologies, U.S.A
The two pictures below show the 5" color TFT screen we ordered at Conrad Electronics to be used in the MCDU's.
Photo Courtesy of IRADIS, The Netherlands
Photo Courtesy of IRADIS, The Netherlands
The Sidestick Assembly
The Airbus A340 is controlled not by the usual control yoke between the legs of the pilot, but by a revolutionary sidestick on the left and right side of respectively the captain and the flight officer.
Photo Courtesy of Peter Cos, Canada