A Bloomberg reporter got away from numbers for a day, to play inside Lockheed Martin's most pricey video game.
The F-35 Cockpit Demonstrator provides pilots with a good sense of how to handle one of the most lethal birds of prey the U.S. Military has ever launched.
Even fighter pilots have to train before hitting the real thing
Bloomberg recently sent reporter Peter Cook to get some personal experience flying the military's most expensive piece of equipment.
But not even pilots fly an 80-million dollar fighter jet without stepping into one of these first.
The F-35 Cockpit Demonstrator mimics precisely the dimensions and instrumentation of a real F-35.
Bloomberg's Peter Cook steps inside the simulator for the first time
Stepping into the simulator, Cook noticed immediately how tightly designers packed the cockpit.
"I can't even get in!" He said. Then later, once he'd been strapped in completely, he said he felt comfortable.
Even though it looks like an uber-nerd's video game chair, real pilots attest to the accuracy of the demonstrator's experience.
They universally report that there's almost no difference between how the actual jet flies and how the demonstrator simulates flight, minus the adrenalin and the g-forces.
And immediately noticed the intuitive nature
Future pilots find a well organized, compact, non clutter-filled heads up display, and learn to steer the aircraft via rudder pedals, at the feet, and sticks located at both sides of F-35's seat.
Controls mounted out of sight but easy to reach maximize bits of information displayed to the pilot during flight.
"These here are what's going to drop your bombs," said the Lockheed Martin press handler, "and this here," he said gesturing to the screen, "will jettison certain things, so be careful with that."
"Like my ejector seat?"
"Uh, we've removed the handle so you can't go up through the ceiling."
"That's good!" Said Cook, smiling at the camera. "That's important."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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