Editing Flight simulator (section)

== Modern high-end flight simulators ==

===Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) at NASA/Ames===
The largest flight simulator in the world is the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) at [[NASA Ames Research Center]], in [[Mountain View, California]]. This has a very large-throw motion system with 60 feet (+/- 30&nbsp;ft) of vertical movement (heave).  The heave system supports a horizontal beam on which are mounted 40&nbsp;ft rails, allowing lateral movement of a simulator cab of +/- 20 feet.  A conventional 6-degree of freedom hexapod platform is mounted on the 40&nbsp;ft beam, and an interchangeable cabin is mounted on the platform.  This design permits quick switching of different aircraft cabins. Simulations have ranged from blimps, commercial and military aircraft to the Space Shuttle.  In the case of the Space Shuttle, the large Vertical Motion Simulator was used to investigate a longitudinal [[pilot-induced oscillation]] (PIO) that occurred on an early Shuttle flight just before landing.  After identification of the problem on the VMS, it was used to try different longitudinal control algorithms and recommend the best for use in the Shuttle program.<ref name=vms_pio>{{cite web|last=Beard|first=Steven|title=Space Shuttle Landing and Rollout Training at the Vertical Motion Simulator|url=http://www.aviationsystemsdivision.arc.nasa.gov/publications/2008/AF2008096.pdf|publisher=AIAA|access-date=5 February 2014|display-authors=etal|archive-date=20 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120224605/http://www.aviationsystemsdivision.arc.nasa.gov/publications/2008/AF2008096.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Disorientation training===

AMST Systemtechnik GmbH (AMST) of Austria and Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC) of Philadelphia, US, manufacture a range of simulators for disorientation training, that have full freedom in yaw.  The most complex of these devices is the Desdemona simulator at the TNO Research Institute in The Netherlands, manufactured by AMST. This large simulator has a gimballed cockpit mounted on a framework which adds vertical motion. The framework is mounted on rails attached to a rotating platform. The rails allow the simulator cab to be positioned at different radii from the centre of rotation and this gives a sustained G capability up to about 3.5.<ref name="TNO">[http://www.tno.nl/content.cfm?context=thema&content=markt_product&laag1=894&laag2=196&laag3=167&item_id=1381&Taal=2 "DESDEMONA: The next generation in movement simulation"] ''Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek'' Retrieved: 5 July 2012.</ref><ref>Roza, M., M. Wentink and Ph. Feenstra. "Performance Testing of the Desdemona Motion System." ''AIAA MST,''  Hilton Head, South Carolina, 20–23 August 2007.</ref>