Flight Simulators in Aerospace Engineering Education

The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin has over seventeen years of experience in the use of flight simulators in the teaching of Aerospace Engineering. The primary simulator used has been a Link GAT-l. An air force surplus T-38 simulator was obtained through an agreement with the local Air Force ROTC unit, but this simulator proved too expensive to maintain. The simulators have been used in the teaching of basic flight mechanics, advanced flight mechanics, flight test engineering, the freshman aerospace engineering course, and in department orientations. This paper describes our experiences in using simulators in Aerospace Engineering education.