The Lakeland Aero Club on the campus of SUN ‘n FUN at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport (KLAL) has added a Redbird FMX full motion flight simulator to its fleet.
This installation will be different from the norm as club members will perform the installation themselves.
Two of the club’s student leaders, Katie Esker, a sophomore, and Sean Stoltz, a freshman, visited Redbird headquarters in Austin, Texas, last month for installation training.
They spent two and half days learning how to assemble and maintain the simulator under the tutelage of Kenyon Odell. After the simulator was completely built at Redbird, it was then dismantled and put in a crate for shipping.
The deconstructed FMX arrived in Lakeland during the week of SUN ‘n FUN, with the students expect to complete its reassembly in about three days.
“Lakeland Aero Club provides its members a variety of amazing opportunities through active participation and practical experience. So, it was only natural that the club ask to build the simulator themselves,” said Redbird’s President, Charlie Gregoire. “We were happy to accommodate and had lots of fun training the students. They are smart, talented, and professional and have been some of the best customers to work with.”
Once the simulator is up and running, the students will draft operating guidelines and begin to use it for flight training.
The simulator can be configured to operate as a Piper Warrior, Piper Seminole, or a Cessna 172.
The Lakeland Aero Club was founded with the mission to introduce young people to all aspects of aviation. The club not only provides an accessible platform for learning to fly, but its members are empowered to make the decisions on how it is operated and run. Members are also offered experience in aircraft restoration and maintenance.