I read in a recent issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology about a new wrinkle in pilot training simulators. It’s not enough that the gauges etc. show the proper data and the pilot can look out of the cockpit and see what is going on. Now the air force is working on a simulator that gives the feeling of flying the plane. It seems that in certain cockpit crises, the strongest indication of trouble a pilot gets is the sensation created as the plane plummets, tumbles etc. out of control. Without the actual feeling of falling etc., the situation is not real enough to give effective training. So the air force is building a one arm centrifuge. In it a pilot can actually feel the Gs as the plane falls out of control. This is all very well when you can afford millions of dollars to train fighter pilots. What about the hobby wargamers? Can we achieve similar realism? Maybe we could load a flight simulation program on a lap top computer and go for a ride on a merry-go-round. Would a ferris wheel or roller coaster be better? The carnival rides that have small planes whirling at the end of chairs would be ideal. There is no reason this idea should be limited to air wargamers. Maybe the gamer could munch a few antique C rations and dig a fox hole before playing Squad Leader. Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior # 141 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com