TWO crew members of mystery plane had flight simulators at home: Now steward on board

[snagglepuss]

the Boeing revealed to have had one as well

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2582624/MH370-It-wasnt-just-captain-missing-Malaysian-airline-flight-simulator-similar-computer-software-home-belonging-member-cabin-crew.html#ixzz2wFOCWuwc
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FWIW I read elsewhere that a friend of this steward says he thought he was acting differently days before the flight.

[JI7]

1. did they have any experience outside of home simulators ?

[snagglepuss]

4. Of course the pilot had but as for the steward I don't know.

I'd like to know if the steward could have learned enough to be a co-pilot as I think there was definitely more than one person involved in this.

[TwilightGardener]

2. WTF? How many people have flight simulators at home, in Malaysia of all places?

How many people have flight simulators at home, period?

[snagglepuss]

5. Exactly. I wonder how much they cost. I imagine they're pricy. Do stewards make enough to

buy these things? I'd like to know if he was planning to become a pilot. Very little information coming out about the crew.

[The Stranger]

7. $27.99

[snagglepuss]

9. self delte

[Fumesucker]

12. There is no "the actual" simulator

There are varying levels of simulation from a single computer, a joystick and one screen all the way to the office building size unit with a moving cabin inside..

[Fumesucker]

10. Basically nothing beyond a computer and a joystick

http://www.flightgear.org/

[X_Digger]

11. A PC, two to four monitors, a joystick, pedals, flaps/throttle levers- bout $2,500.

According to the picture posted in the article, that's about all it'd take to put that together.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. This guy is a bit extreme. Made from a real 737 carcas:

A little more elaborate made from plywood:

closer to what the pilot had:

[treestar]

6. Starting to sound like flight simulator capital of the world!

Definitely strange.

[JHB]

13. Can't speak about Malaysia, but worldwide? Thousands, potentially tens of thousands

From the picture at the link, we're not talking about a true commercial simulator. It's basically the setup of a hobbyist who uses generally-available flightsim software and "soups up" their setup with bells and whistles: multiple screens for a wider field of vision, more realistic flight controls, chairs that are designed to tilt to simulate cockpit movement.

When you add all the bells and whistles it adds up to thousands of dollars. Not cheap, but not millions, and within a pilot's means, and maybe within the steward's (it's not really clear what sorts of setups they all had).

By itself, it isn't particularly suspicious that flight enthusiasts have a flight setup (hell, who knows, maybe it's tax deductible for them). What will be more interesting is whether the saved sessions provide any leads or show something hinkey.

[JI7]

16. someone posted a pic a few days ago and it looked like something anyone

can get easily if they have interest in flying or just gaming and computers.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. PC-based flight simulators are dirt cheap.

And millions of people play with them as a hobby. So there's nothing odd about someone with an interest in aviation having one.

[TwilightGardener]

18. So they're talking about basically what amounts to spendy computer games?

I can see that. When I pictured a flight simulator, I thought of something that someone sits in and is meant to seriously train a pilot on a specific aircraft.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. Yes. Just computer gear.

Not one of these:



Those are enormous, cost many millions, and nobody can afford to buy or maintain one but airlines and flight training facilities.

[LiberalAndProud]

19. Many gamers do.

I have a friend who bought a chair for flight simulation. The chair moves with the software. Pretty cool. Not something I would spend money on. You've heard the difference between men and boys is the size of their toys, right? Definitely applies in this case.

[TwilightGardener]

20. I guess the economy's not as bad as I thought. Here AND in Malaysia...

[KoKo]

21. I have a Relative who is a UA Pilot and he has a simulator at home...

and it runs different kinds of software programs which simulates different inflight situations a pilot might have to cope with. He a special chair that can simulate inflight movement and large computer screen in his home office area. I assume that this is what the Pilots had. Pilots have constant testing so they invest in sofware and equipment that simulates flight and situations they have to deal with that they can use at home. They don't need to have a "mock up" cockpit to train. When they are tested they have the mock up cockpit but it's not necessary.

[randome]

3. You mean X-Boxes?

Kidding.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A 90% chance of rain means the same as a 10% chance:
It might rain and it might not.[/center][/font][hr]

[Fumesucker]

8. If you are resourceful and frugal flight simulators don't have to cost all that much

I don't find it at all peculiar that people who work with air flight enjoy flight simulators and have them in their homes. We are really just talking computer screens and fancy joysticks for the most part.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

14. This is really grasping at straws.

And the Daily Mail isn't a legitimate news outlet.

[leftyohiolib]

23. pilots having flight simulators doesnt seem like a red flag

[NuclearDem]

24. Not that uncommon, and not all that expensive honestly.

You can "find" Microsoft Flight Simulator on the internet, and buying new low-end joysticks/pedals or used good ones on eBay isn't that expensive.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

25. My girlfriends parents have a DC-9 simulator, albeit in pieces.

A retirement project that never really got off the ground, they need an old oddball Unix machine to properly operate it and it arrived with it's hard drives removed.

[Warpy]

26. Nothing sinister about that

I'm sure it's in the back of the head of any crew member that they might have to fly the plane if the cockpit crew becomes incapacitated for some reason.

[DinahMoeHum]

27. The Daily Mail is a tabloid POS. Anything said there. . .

. . .should be taken with a grain of salt.