GOSHEN —
A new era of flight training has arrived for Goshen-based New Horizons Aviation.
Started seven years ago by local charter pilot Dan Steiner and commercial airline captain Roger Yoder, New Horizons Aviation is the fixed wing flight training and airplane rental operation located at Goshen Municipal Airport.
While the company has offered private and commercial flight training opportunities since its inception, the arrival of a new, state-of-the-art flight training simulator to the facility this past December has proven to be quite a game-changer for the operation.
“It’s called a Redbird Full-Motion Simulator,” Yoder said of the new trainer. The machine features wrap-around visuals, an enclosed and reconfigurable cockpit and electric motion platform to help simulate the sensation of flight.
“We got this with several thoughts in mind. One, we do instrument training here for private pilot’s licenses, and by having the simulator, we can expose students to things in the simulator that wouldn’t actually be safe to do in the airplane. I’m actually working with a student right now in the simulator, and I’m so excited about the things I can do with it, because when he goes for a check ride to gain his instrument rating he will have faced a lot of decision making in the simulator that we would never cover in an airplane.”
For example, instructors with students in the simulator can choose to “fail” instruments and different aircraft components on demand, change the weather from good to bad and simulate both daytime and nighttime flying.
“All of those things we can simulate,” Yoder said, “which greatly enhances the training that we can provide to our students.”
While flight training simulators have been around for decades, Yoder noted that the major standout of the Redbird simulator is that it is motion-based, a feature that in the past has typically been too expensive to implement for all but the largest training operations.
“It’s a huge deal,” Yoder said of the new acquisition. “I don’t know of any other flight school around that has one. Some of the universities like Western Michigan and Purdue have one, but for a local airport, this is very unique, and I believe it sets us apart.”
In addition to the heightened training opportunities, Yoder noted that the new trainer also makes it possible for instructors and pilots to get in valuable flying time even on bad weather days when flying would typically not be possible.
“So our hope is that people will use it, for example, in the winter when there are lots of clouds and ice and they can’t actually get up in the air,” Yoder said. “In addition, the simulator can also be used to keep pilots current, because once a pilot has their instrument rating, they’re required to do so much flying in order to maintain their instrument proficiency. So with the flight simulator, they can do their entire instrument proficiency check in the simulator in order to remain current.
“So it’s a training tool, and it also enhances the safety of general aviation flying,” he said. “It’s a win-win.”
Local News
Related Photos
-
Pilot and flight instructor Roger Yoder sets up the Goshen airport's flight simulator Friday using a laptop. The software allows the user to choose weather conditions, mechanical failures and other training scenarios for pilots. SAM HOUSEHOLDER
Simulator allows Goshen pilots to be trained without leaving the ground
- Local News
-
-
'Experience Michiana' segments to be taped in Goshen
The crew with WNIT program “Experience Michiana” is set to tape segments in Goshen this week. The segments will be broadcast June 27 and 28.
-
State officials warn people to be alert at fairs, festivals
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security and state police are reminding state residents to be alert for safety concerns when attending county fairs and other local festivals.
-
SLIDESHOW: Pets of the Week
Featured pets available for adoption at the Humane Society of Elkhart County.
-
Goshen officials donate former Hawks Building to LaCasa
An agreement between Goshen city government and LaCasa Inc. allowing for the donation of the former Hawks Building to the local non-profit was approved Monday.
-
LIBRARY NEWS: Reading programs underway
Summer reading programs for young people are underway at the Goshen library.
-
GROUNDS FOR INSANITY: In need of a support group — or several
It’s an idea whose time has come. Actually, the country’s been ripe for it since the oil crisis of the Carter administration, but I was young then and hadn’t twigged to it yet.
-
Rocket Science gains some national exposure
NAPPANEE — Things were buzzing at Rocket Science Ice Cream Shop on a recent Friday when camera crews from The Food Network and The Cooking Channel arrived at the shop inside Coppes Commons.
-
Fabric repurposed for medical uses at local nursing home
NAPPANEE - One person’s trash is another’s treasure, the old saying goes. For a group of women at a nursing home in Nappanee, that saying has never been more true.
-
Welcome back, Inn: Oakwood Reopens
SYRACUSE — After five years of uncertainty, the Oakwood Resort on Lake Wawasee checked in its first guests under new ownership last week.
-
Annual bike ride continues to grow
GOSHEN — Cyclists in the hundreds converged on Goshen and Shipshewana early Saturday morning for the kickoff of the 14th annual Friends of the Pumpkinvine fundraising ride.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades
Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin
3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
Obama Seeks G-8 Support on Syria
Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City
Kid Couture: Spending Big Bucks on Babies
Suicide Bombs Target Baghdad Mosque, Killing 29
Military Plans to Put Women in Combat Jobs
Solar Power Chargers in NYC Parks
Civil Rights Groups Sue NYPD Over Muslim Spying
Raw: First Lady, Daughters Enjoy Irish Sights
RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled
Boeing, Airbus Battle for Sales Supremacy
