EAA Chapter 292 at Independence State Airport (7S5) in Oregon now has a full-fledged training room complete with two simulators, including a Redbird FMX simulator and an Elite RC-1.
The newest addition to the facility is the Redbird sim, according to Charles West, a chapter member who has been the force behind getting the training room up and going.
A long-time pilot, West remembers his days of flying in Alaska when the Medallion Foundation had flight simulators at quite a few airports that pilots could use.
“That’s when I first became aware of flight simulators,” he says.
After he retired and moved to Oregon, he spearheaded an effort to buy the Elite RC-1 simulator so chapter members could retain their currency.
Expanding the effort is all about safety, says West.
“I know of an individual that he maybe would still be alive if I had said something to him regarding the fact that he needed some more training,” he recalls. “He passed away. Since then, I have rethought the process of speaking out and saying something to individuals.”
Actions speak louder than words, so West put his efforts into creating the training room at the chapter’s hangar at the airport.
Still busy ferrying airplanes, even though he is retired, West discovered the Redbird sim for sale while on a trip through Redding, California. Already packed in a container, he bought it for $15,000 and brought it back to the chapter. After a vote of the 200 or so members, the chapter paid for the simulator and he got to work rebuilding the sim in the training room, with some help from the kids in the chapter’s youth program.
The kids helped unload the container and bolt the framework together.
“Some of the pieces are pretty heavy,” he says.
The framework was put together in about two days, with Chuck completing the build process on the sim and the room, which now has new carpet, three new computers, a laser printer, and a 75-inch television that can be used to view training videos.
Beyond safety
The goal for the sims is for members and area pilots to retain their currency, while offering ground school to individuals in the area, including kids in the youth program, who are busy building a Van’s RV-12.
“Once that RV-12 is done, I’m going to be offering a ground school for the kids on the weekend,” he says. “A couple of them have already approached me and asked me about training in it. The long-term goal is to train the kids in both simulators.”
Pilots who are members of the Experimental Aircraft Association can buy block time on either of the sims. Time on the Elite RC-1 is sold in either 10 hour or 50 hour increments. Cost for 10 hours is $150, or $15 an hour, while the 50-hour block is $500, or $10 an hour. Time on the Redbird will cost $40 with a block purchase, he says.
While the initial goal was to help members retain currency, the chapter is finding the sims are a “greater benefit to individuals who are trying to develop job skills and go on to the airlines,” according to West.
“I know of two individuals that, when they came here to use the flight simulator, they didn’t even have a commercial license,” he says. “That was five years ago. They are currently flying for the airlines.”
“That’s another reason that I pushed for this because it becomes economically feasible for some of these individuals to go on and pursue the careers that they want,” he adds.
West encourages other EAA chapters to consider adding a sim, “if it is economically feasible.”
“Some of the desktop simulators that you can maintain your instrument currency on are only running $5,000 or $6,000,” he says.
Anyone with questions about how the chapter went about getting the sim and building the training room can contact West at [email protected].
He adds that as a non-profit organization, EAA Chapter 292 is “happy to accept donations.”
Yes, Redbird make a fine product,
Soon I hope we can get into the 3-Axis models that give the operator the feeling in the seat, rather than a static chair.