A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of flight controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc. Flight simulation is used for a variety of reasons, including flight training, the design and development of the aircraft itself, and research into aircraft characteristics and control handling qualities.
F/A-18 Hornet flight simulator aboard the USS Independence aircraft carrier
Link Trainer patent drawing, 1930
Military Personnel Using Link Trainer, Pepperell Manufacturing Co., 1943
Cockpit of a twinjet flight simulator
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.
Level D simulator used for Type Conversions