As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the flight training industry, Redbird Flight Simulations is providing free access to a new product that enables flight instructors to conduct remote flight simulator sessions with students.
Redbird Connect provides a platform for flight instructors and their students to safely resume flight lessons through flight simulation and video conferencing technology.
It enables remote access to a web-based version of Redbird’s flight simulator operating system, Redbird Navigator, which gives flight instructors full functionality of the system’s instructor tools. From anywhere in the world, instructors will be able to guide and control flight training sessions on Redbird simulators by setting and changing the weather, initiating failures, pausing and unpausing flights, repositioning aircraft, and more.
Redbird Connect prioritizes the instructor’s visibility into training sessions, according to company officials. To allow instructors to track flights and provide scenario-specific guidance, it includes a split-screen view of the simulated aircraft’s primary flight display (PFD) and a moving map display of the flight in progress. Combined with a live video feed of the student, flight instructors can simultaneously oversee the student’s hand flying and critical data for the flight.
Redbird Connect is in beta testing with flight schools around the United States and is due for release in the next Navigator update this month.
Redbird is offering the new product for free as flight schools and instructors adjust their operations for the global coronavirus pandemic.
To use Redbird Connect in their flight training, students will be able to download and install the product on any Redbird flight simulator that has the Navigator operating system installed. Both the student and instructor will need a reliable internet connection and access to a third-party video conferencing application.
Additionally, as part of EAA’s Spirit of Aviation Week, which takes place July 21-25, 2020, Redbird Connect will power the Virtual Pilot Proficiency Center. An all-online version of the week-long program at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the Virtual Pilot Proficiency Center will pair pilots with Certified Flight Instructors (CFIs) to practice a series of scenario-based training exercises for visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR).