High-tech flight simulator no longer a Motueka secret

October 3rd, 2014
[by David Armstrong]

A world-leading flight simulator has been developed in Motueka, offering exciting experiences for ordinary people as well as great export potential for our local budding high-tech industry.

Tomas Zahradka is the inventor, owner and operator of Digital Sky Simulation, which two years ago moved from Nelson to a showroom behind the Caltex petrol station, the business now rebranded from SimPit.

Tomas has stayed in the background for a while as he created and improved his Titan HD full flight simulator, but recently has opened his doors to not only potential buyers but also local people to try their hand.

In the past two years he has sold about 18 of the simulators overseas, adding to the two sold while in Nelson. Many have gone to South Korea and Saudi Arabia with some also to Australia, the United States and Russia.

A standard unit, including customised hardware and special software, costs about $87,000 excluding GST. Tomas says all of the profits are invested back into the business to further develop and enhance the system.

The simulator pod in his showroom creates complete illusion of real flight through simulation, giving people an exact experience of flying any type of aircraft, out of any airport in the world, with any choice of weather.

The choice of aircraft ranges from the very earliest flying machines, through biplanes and acrobatic machines to modern fighter planes. Flying conditions any possible flight conditions include thunderstorms, cloud and turbulence.

The most impressive feature at first glance is the completely seamless cockpit view of the surroundings ahead, to both sides and even quite a way behind. The detail is so good that you can pick out your own house if you "fly" low enough.

Tomas helps Ben buckle up for his flight.

A steep roll over Motueka.

My two grandsons, Jack (12) and Ben (10), spent about 10-15 minutes each flying a fighter plane under Tomas's guidance, taking off from Motueka airport, doing some steep turns and barrel rolls up the Motueka Valley, and heading south to "land" at Nelson airport.

The total cost was $20 and the benefit, two lads talking about the experience for days.

One key to the simulation is called Acceleration and G-Cueing, a technique pioneered by Tomas that combines visual and motion cueing of the brain to create completely realistic illusion of flight and most of G-forces experienced throughout taxi, take off, flight and landing.

Tomas is building a second simulator pod (pictured in the photo at the top of the article), which will enable two people to fly in formation, talk with each other via radio and even have dogfights.

The idea started in 1995 as a garage experiment, and in 2011 SimPit Technologies was founded in Nelson to serve what Tomas saw as "a gap in the market for affordable quality visual system to match the quality hardware available on market".

In 2010 the first prototype was built and in mid-2011 he completed the world's first commercially used unit of this concept. Moving to Motueka in 2012, company carried on manufacturing the simulators and shipping worldwide but without public access.

"We specialize in advanced simulation, gaming rooms, large cylindrical screens, cinema screens and acceleration and G cueing," Tomas says. "Our goal is to redefine simulation and virtual reality - make it less virtual, more real and deliver complete illusion of real flight.

"A lot of simulation companies are promising to take the simulation to the next level. Well, we already did it. There will be probably lot of others following our success and we proud to be leading the way.

"Apart from multimillion simulators, you can have either realistic cockpit experience or realistic flight experience. But by using virtual and hybrid cockpits, we can accurately simulate the physics applied to the cockpit and aircraft, so you get the correct view from cockpit without parallax error. And we can use the motion platform to get the correct motion cueing to make it feel just like the real deal."

Tomas Zahradka has more than 10 years experience in aviation and the entertainment industry. He is an instructor and flier of helicopters, a skydiving instructor, wingsuit instructor, parachute rigger and designer with major interest in aviation psychology.

He used to study at the Nelson Aviation College at Motueka Airport and fly for You Fly Heli. Now in his business he is helped by Claus Petry who is former New Zealand Aerobatic champion in Advanced class and competed in the Unlimited class in aerobatics.

Tomas's local marketing plan is to make and sell simulators into the main centres of New Zealand, to be used for public enjoyment as well as VFR pilot training in those cities.

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