In an effort to help reduce loss of control accidents in small planes, the Experimental Aircraft Association initiated the Founder's Innovation Prize, and this year I was a finalist. The proposal was for Expanded Envelope Exercises (E3), non-traditional flight exercises to make pilots more cognitively available in the stressful situations that so often precede loss of control accidents.
E3 has been flight tested, is well documented, has received good reviews in the press and at one university where E3 is being incorporated into the flight training curriculum, but there are some flight scenarios better suited to simulator study than in-flight experiments. I'm hoping to discuss E3 with the Flight Simulator development team, both for serious safety research and also to add value to the product. And of course, they're welcome to come fly E3 with me in my plane or any plane they bring.
On another topic, the RV series airplanes from Van's Aircraft are by far the fastest growing part of the US general aviation fleet and appropriate for modeling. However, there is absolutely no cockpit standardization.
Ed
Flight instructor, engineering Ph.D., etc
