From FTD to Level D: Why Scalable Avionics Design Matters
The training requirement may change. The cockpit hardware strategy doesn’t have to.
Flight training devices come in many forms.
One customer may need a cost-effective FTD for procedures and familiarization. Another may require a full-motion, high-fidelity simulator capable of supporting the most demanding training requirements.
Those systems are very different.
But that does not mean every avionics panel, display, control, and cockpit assembly has to be redesigned from scratch.
At Simtek, Inc., we believe scalable avionics design can help bridge multiple levels of training fidelity while maintaining the cockpit realism operators expect.
Start With a Common Design
Whenever possible, a strong simulated avionics platform begins with a common mechanical and electrical foundation.
The same basic panel architecture can often support different training applications through changes in:
Interfaces
Electronics
Displays
Software
I/O
Lighting
Internal components
Functional requirements
The result is a product family that can evolve with the trainer rather than forcing customers to start over every time the training requirement changes.
Commonality Has Real Value
Using common simulated avionics across multiple training devices can provide significant advantages.
Operators experience consistent cockpit layouts and controls.
Maintenance teams become familiar with common hardware.
Spare-part requirements can be simplified.
Engineering changes can be easier to manage.
And simulator manufacturers can reduce the amount of new development required for each new device.
For customers operating multiple trainers, that commonality can become increasingly valuable over the life of a program.
Build the Fidelity the Trainer Requires
Not every trainer needs the same level of functionality.
A lower-level device may focus on procedures, switch operation, displays, and systems familiarization.
A higher-fidelity simulator may require more detailed functionality, aircraft-like interfaces, environmental qualification, tighter performance requirements, and integration with a much larger simulation architecture.
Scalable design allows those differences to be addressed without automatically requiring an entirely different cockpit hardware solution.
Use the fidelity the training objective requires—and build from a platform capable of growing with it.
One Platform. Multiple Training Missions.
A scalable approach can also help programs expand over time.
A customer may begin with an FTD and later add more advanced devices.
A military program may require desktop trainers, procedural trainers, part-task trainers, and full-cockpit systems.
A commercial training organization may operate several device types supporting the same aircraft platform.
Rather than developing isolated solutions for every trainer, common simulated avionics can help create continuity across the entire training ecosystem.
Designing Beyond the First Delivery
The real value of scalability appears over the life of the program.
Training requirements change.
Aircraft configurations evolve.
Components become obsolete.
Interfaces are modernized.
Software changes.
New trainers are added.
When simulated avionics are designed with those realities in mind, customers gain more flexibility to modify and expand their training systems without unnecessarily replacing proven hardware.
That can mean less redesign, greater commonality, and a clearer path for future upgrades.
From FTD to Full-Mission Fidelity
At Simtek, our goal is not simply to build a panel for one simulator.
It is to develop simulated avionics and cockpit hardware that can support the broader training program.
From procedural training and FTD applications to the demanding fidelity of full-flight simulation, a scalable design philosophy helps customers get more value from the engineering already invested in the platform.
Because the best simulator hardware should not only meet today’s requirement.
It should be ready for the next one.
