SAFA Skysailor Magazine

10 SKY SAILOR January | February 2022 A review of Australia’s first fully-featured virtual reality paraglider simulator. My third attempt to land on the orange circle in the middle of the LZ gets off to a good start. The location is Greifenburg, Austria, but I have competition on my hands – about 10 minutes ago, my buddy Nick landed right on top of the marker on his third attempt. My approach is good, I think, but proves not good enough as I am briefly distracted by a truck driving down the side of a distant hill. I land short, meaning Nick wins, at least this time, but it’s not all bad. I’ve actually done about 20 approaches into Greifenburg, and improved every time, under a wide variety of conditions which became more challenging. When I say Greifenburg, I’m being econom- ical with the truth. The physical locations of all flights actually occurred at the Jet Flight Simulator Canberra (JFSC), in the northern suburb of Lyneham, ACT, where Australia’s first fully featured 3D virtual reality paraglider simulator has been set up. This eventuated as a result of the initiative of four ACT Hang gliding and Paragliding Association (ACTHPA) pilots who invested their own funds to get the ball rolling. Initially skeptical of how such a simulator might perform, the potential looked sufficiently convincing to give it a try. We have not been disappointed. What can the simulator do, and equally important, what can it not do? Let’s explore the positives; its brake, weight-shift and speed bar functions are realistic, and on the money. You can hear and feel the wind, including increased speed. You Flying Greifenburg and other places… by Michael Claringbould cannot simulate G-forces nor initiate collapses, neither can you simulate launch nor accurate landing flares. However, the most stunning feature is the 3D realism provided by high-res- olution VR goggles, giving a real sense of flying. So much so in fact, the brain tells you that you are flying and your body reacts accordingly. This means it’s better to close your eyes on ‘landing’ as, of course, there is no impact – so as not to confuse your brain. The simulator has a wide range of controls, including time of day, thermic conditions, variable wind vectors, cloud conditions and visibility. At present, several high resolution sites are available; aside from Greifenburg there is also Annecy in France and Bassano in Italy. There is a coastal site and a sand dune site too. We have a high resolution beta model of the south launch at Lake George which includes the much reduced bomb-out area at The facility at the Jet Flight Simulator, Lyneham, Canberra. The operator adjusts flight parameters via a keyboard