Customizable simulator training for GA

Todd O’Brien is the owner and chief instructor at Solid Ground Aviation, which currently operates at Tipton Airport in Fort Meade, Maryland. O’Brien started his career in the U.S. Air Force and eventually worked his way into a role with a major airline. At every step of the way, simulators were a big part of his training. When he got into Part 61 GA instruction, he was surprised at the lack of simulator training.

“They'’e fiddling with the Garmin, while they’re paying Hobbs time, we’re sweaty outside, it’s 95 degrees, while I’m like, I could teach you this in a simulator, you should already know this,” O’Brien said.

Looking at some of the other simulators already on the market, the major drawback was the lack of customization. O’Brien noticed how many flight schools have “Frankenstein fleets,” with each airplane in the fleet having different instruments and panels. He concluded that a simulator with fixed instruments provided limited value as simulator experience didn’t always transfer over into tasks such as inputting the route into the GPS or primary flight display in the aircraft.

O’Brien used his technical acumen to design and build a highly customizable simulator and go through the extensive process of getting it FAA certified.

“For a flight school with a Frankenstein fleet, this, you go in there, you pick your tail number, and it pops up, and now you’re looking at that specific airplane on the simulator.”

The SG-1 devices are basic aviation training devices, the use of which can count for up to 10 hours of instrument training for an instrument rating. A BATD can also be used to log procedures for instrument currency. Solid Ground’s advanced aviation training devices are pending FAA approval, O’Brien said, which would allow up to 20 hours of instrument time to be logged toward the instrument rating.

But the simulators have a variety of other uses, O’Brien said, from initial private pilot training all the way up to training instructors and jet transition training. O’Brien says the simulators are also a great way to build proficiency, with the lower-stakes, affordable, yet customizable, approach to flight training saving pilots time and money, and improving their skills.

The vision for the future, O’Brien says, is that when general aviation pilots are asked what they do for proficiency, they “would say, ‘I go to Solid Ground Aviation near me.’”

O’Brien said that the fact Solid Ground Aviation isn’t tied to a flight school or specific curriculum is another advantage. Anyone interested in taking a lesson can take one, with Solid Ground having curriculum for every level. With simulators being expensive to purchase, there was a large barrier to accessing them for Part 61 pilots (which is sometimes an individual owner-operator-instructor with one airplane), and that is exactly the problem O’Brien hopes to solve.

Solid Ground Aviation currently only has one location, but O’Brien hopes to grow the company further. He’s looking to expand, hoping to find managers for future locations or franchisees to help grow simulator training for GA pilots nationwide. O’Brien also hopes to sell equipment directly to flight schools with “Frankenstein fleets,” who would see the largest benefits.