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Paper handouts with photographs. Outdated simulators from the 1980s. These were the norm when training avionic mechanics and technicians who serve in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Not anymore.
Today, a Glass Cockpit Trainer (GCT) provides a virtual environment unlike any before â€" and four, 22-inch Elo TouchSystems touch monitors with IntelliTouch technology make it possible.
Flight Sergeant Malky Hamilton, head of Avionics simulator development for the Electrotechnology Training Squadron in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, says the touch monitors had the exact size, shape and capabilities to work with a scaled down version of a Boeing 767 instrument panel.
The Elo touch monitors are good looking, functional and Id choose them again, he says.
The virtual training system displays multiple views that allow students to see and interact with an aircraft inside and out â€" a major improvement. It helps students see the correlation between what a plane is doing and what the instrument panel is showing.
Six GCTs are networked to a central instructor station that is configured as a control tower. Students use the Elo touchmonitors to simulate powering up the system, adjusting settings, and running compliance tests to confirm if complex radar, communication and navigation systems are operating correctly.
Dick Greenbank, Director of TouchSystems New Zealand, says Elo software made it possible to accommodate the complex, multi-monitor set-up the system required.
 The Elo 2239L touchmonitor was the perfect fit for the clients needs, he says. It provides an extremely fast response to touch and optimal resolution to reproduce the complex images of the instrument panels, all while fitting within the space allotted. Its now a simulator that faithfully reproduces the arrangement of an actual aircraft cockpit.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force Glass Cockpit Trainer simulates a Boeing aircraft using Elo TouchSystems touchmonitors (the four screens in the center of the unit). The pilot position is on the left (with the control column) and the co-pilot is on the right. Between the seats are the throttle control levers and further back are the communications controls.
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