OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Kids attending EAA AirVenture this week have a chance to get some free pilot training. It’s an aviation simulator to help kids practice flying skills.
At first glance, it looks like a video game, and that’s what makes it so fun, for 14-year-old Alex Tarara.
“When I was six, I was really in love with video games and it looks like a video game right? And so I started doing that and that’s when I found my interest to fly,” said Tarara.
Tarara tells FOX 11 he’s been using the Redbird Flight simulators for years, up until he was able to fly a real aircraft.
“Its really helped a lot, it was a big step to learning on a real aircraft and I don’t know, it was really nice.”
The simulators are a hands-on training tool for existing pilots and anyone who wants to learn how to fly.
“We have a whole range of simulators,” said Josh Harnagel, Redbird Flight Simulator Vice President of Marketing.
“Everything from a small desktop sim to a large full motion simulator, so we cover basically every plane you see on the grounds here, except for the large military airplanes, we can simulate.”
Harnagel tells FOX 11 the technology is used in universities, high schools, middle schools and flight schools.
He said compared to real aircraft, the technology isn’t 100 percent, but it’s very close.
“The cockpits are set up just the same as a regular airplane, they have the yoke, the throttle, rotter pedals, just all the normal configuration that you would have in an airplane. “
Students say science, technology, engineering, and math are important to use in aviation training.
“You need to learn the floor of gravity of the airplane, that you learn in classes, all that helped a lot,” explained Tarara.
Instructors say it’s a great vehicle to get people involved in aviation.
“It gives them a real hands-on experience for the things they learn in the classroom.”
Redbird is offering free classes for kids from 6th to 12th grade. It goes until Saturday.
Hours are from 9 am to 3 pm.
