Nashua Flight Simulator Expands with New Elite iGate 501 w/GNS 530
Nashua Flight Simulator, located at 117 Perimeter Road (Boier Field ASH), announced the purchase of a new iGate 501 from Elite Software Solutions. Stephen Cunningham, Managing Partner of Nashua Flight Simulator said, “This brand new, FAA approved, flight simulator is in addition to our original iGate 501 we’ve operated for the past fifteen months. However this new unit much improved”. “For example” he said, “A Garmin GNS 530 (GPS/Com-Nav) is the feature that will highlight the instrument training opportunities pilots will have at reasonable costs.” Other features include the Beech Barron and the Beech Bonanza plus a newer version of the Beech King Air B 200.
This expansion is a direct result of the interest and input from the pilot community that currently use Nashua flight simulator’s services for Instrument Proficiency Checks (IPC’s), IFR Currency (6 in 6 Plus), Instrument Proficiency and the recently instituted Airline Prep program “Garmin 430/530 units are installed in over 80,000 general aviation aircraft” said Cunningham. Now pilots will be able to become really proficient in the many features of the Garmin 430/530 com-nav applications.
Cunningham expects delivery by mid October and to have this new flight simulator in full operation before the end of October. He announced, “Pilots can now easily and fully explore the many advantages of this equipment. Especially in a dynamic, flight environment while simulating re-routing changes, flight plan modification and approach changes all the while keep the aircraft in proper flight envelope”.
If you are currently flying with a Garmin 430/530 installation then you’re going to want to take advantage of learning to maximize the utility of this equipment in a flight environment without burning gallons upon gallons of expensive avgas. Save those dollars for your trips.
This Elite iGate 501 can place you in a very busy Class Bravo terminal airspace, with ATC vectoring, radio chatter, re-routing, executing a missed approach and flying to an alternate to really test your ability to flip through the many pages the Garmin menu offers. You can do this without weather concerns (ICE), traffic avoidance, gas or rental costs in a comfortable and conducive learning atmosphere. Cunningham added, “You’ll not find this unique opportunity anywhere else in the Northeast. At Nashua Flight Simulator we offer unparalleled customer service, great value, experienced instructors and a professional and courteous atmosphere each and every day”.Nashua Flight Simulator Club announces new ownership
Nashua, NH – Nashua Flight Simulator Club, at the Keyson Airways building, 119 Perimeter Road, at Boire Field, is now owned and operated by F & C Marketing Group of NH, LLC. The principals of F & C Marketing Group of NH are Stephen Cunningham of Nashua, NH and Richard Fournier of Newmarket, NH. The flight simulator is an FAA approved iGate G500 from ELITE Simulation Solutions.
In addition to the opportunity for an instrument rated pilot to maintain IFR currency or obtain an IPC (Instrument Proficiency Check), the new owners are developing a variety of programs that are, “Risk-free and cost-effective,” Cunningham says. With the cost of avgas rising and aircraft operating costs increasing as well, training in this kind of environment is increasingly appealing.
Watch this newspaper for upcoming announcements from Nashua Flight Simulator.
Atlantic Flyer - September 2006, By Russ Hume
NASHUA FLIGHT SIMULATOR
Maintaining IFR currency can be a challenge in terms of time as well as expense. It can take upwards of three hours to complete the minimum of six approaches, holds, intercepts and tracking, in an airplane and those are just minimums. What does it take to maintain proficiency? For most of us who do not use the instrument rating on a weekly basis, it is difficult if not impossible, to maintain the proficiency level to operate effectively in the system.
I trained for the instrument rating several years ago; not to seek out bad weather, but to expand my knowledge / skill set and to learn to operate in a more precise environment. Unfortunately, those skills deteriorate when they are not utilized frequently.
There is a partial answer to this concern: flight simulation in an approved training device. I recently spent an hour or so with Steve Cunningham of Nashua Flight Simulator running through multiple intercepts and approaches on their FAA Approved Elite iGate 500 Flight Simulator. It consists of the cockpit layout (set up to simulate a Piper Archer, but reconfigurable to other models including Arrow, Seneca III, or Beech King Air B200) and three screens and projectors to simulate the outside environment. Future enhancement plans include panel overlays for a Mooney 20J, a Cessna 182RG, a Bonanza A36 and a Baron 55/58.
We set up approaches into Worcester (ILS 29), Fitchburg (NDB-A), Manchester (ILS 35), and Nashua (VOR 32 and ILS 14). These are all approaches that I have utilized in the past. The setup was simple. Steve started me five to seven miles from the initial approach fix. I had to navigate to the fix and fly the approach down to minimums. While my personal minimums for actual IFR operation are much higher, it was certainly challenging to be in simulated clouds all the way down to approach minimums, finding the runway and landing.
Although Nashua Flight Simulator is not a full motion simulator, the cockpit environment is realistic enough that at one point I actually began to experience mild vertigo. I had to force myself to stay with the instruments to work through the sensation. We also worked through an engine failure on take-off in a non-precision minimum ceiling scenario (which did not have a good ending). I was able to get up and walk away from the experience.
According to Steve, the simulator can provide part of the instrument training for Private, Commercial, and ATP certificates, in addition to satisfying a significant portion of the training requirement for the instrument rating. More importantly, it can economically provide ongoing proficiency training that can be used to supplement actual flight time.
Nashua Flight Simulator is now operating under new ownership and management at Boire Field, Nashua, New Hampshire. It shares space with the East Coast Aero Club in the building behind Keyson Airways. The new operation is offering a simulator club and the option to purchase blocks of time at a discounted rate. There will be IG and AG Instructors available, as well as several CFIs. And the new owners are in the process of developing additional packages (IPC) and training programs for other complex and multi-engine aircraft.
