Clipper - Pan Am Railways

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pan am services training center
and the boeing 727 flight simulators
When it comes to professional flight training, no one offers a better equipped and conveniently located facility than
Pan Am Services Training Center at Sanford International Airport in Central Florida. With state-of-the-art Boeing 727
simulators, Pan Am Services has graduated numerous qualified pilots and engineers. Many domestic and international
operators including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boston Maine Airways, Federal Express and Capital Cargo
Airways are just a few on the long list of satisfied customers.
The Boeing 727, an industry workhorse, first took to the skies in 1963. The range of flights it could cover, together with the
additional safety built in with its third engine, meant that the 727 would prove efficient for short to medium range
international flights around the globe. Through the years, it has remained one of the world’s most popular jetliners as it
continues to serve both passenger and freight operations. In fact, Federal Express pioneered the cargo airline revolution in
1975 utilizing 727’s which are still employed as the equipment of choice by countless cargo airline carriers worldwide.
Boston Maine Airways will be using 727's to operate its Clipper Connection passenger service out of Sanford International and
Pease International Airport, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Other companies use the 727 as a way to transport passengers to
resorts or cruise ships. Carnival Cruise Lines used the 727 to fly both scheduled and charter flights to carry their passengers to
those cities that harbored their ships.
The 727 has even on occasion been employed by some government agencies as well as the Air Forces of Belgium, the former
Yugoslavia, and New Zealand. The 727 that carried New Zealand Prime Minister James Bolger was known as Spud One.
Pan Am Services’ Boeing 727 training program is designed for experienced pilots in jet aircraft. The course encompasses
extensive ground school and performance training followed by systems integration and instrument refresher in the simulator.
Flight training is performed to ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) standards, and a Federal Aviation Administration evaluator
administers a final check ride. In the flight engineer training program, students receive eighty hours of jet introduction ground
school, complemented by training in the simulator. Upon successful completion of the course, the student receives a Flight
Engineer Certificate with a Turbojet Rating. Prior to enrolling in this course the candidate must have completed the written
portion of the flight engineer exam and met the FAA physical standards.
Pan Am also offers flight crew recurrent training, a course designed for other airlines and 727 operators that do not possess
their own simulators. The course consists of several days of ground school supplemented with time in the simulator.
About the Simulator -
When you enter the cockpit of the 727 simulator, you are entering a cockpit setting identical to that of a 727 aircraft. These
simulators were built to match the exact dimension and feeling of the real thing, complete with sound, motion, and visual
display.
Mock emergencies, engine damage and shutdown during take-off, or aborted take-off in any and all scenarios - you name it and
these magic boxes will do it. One of the unique features of these simulators is that at the push of a button an instructor can
easily isolate the flight engineer from the rest of the crew and give him or her a set of problems to handle without affecting
the “flying” of the aircraft.
While “in flight”, the instructor can add good or bad weather, select a different destination, shut down any of the three
engines, land at any of hundreds of pre-programmed airports around the nation, and even freeze the entire flight exercise to
discuss any training subject. Landings with motion can be as smooth as a feather or so rough as to cause injury if not properly
seated with adjusted seatbelts and harnesses. During take-off a sudden loss of all generators would create an unpleasant feeling
in the real world, but in the simulator environment students are trained to handle the situation by recalling instantaneous
memory triggers and acting upon them. The beauty of the 727 is that every system on board has a backup ready to enter into
action if the main one should fail.
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