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In the spring of 2004, Jan Fjeld was made aware that the American corporation of Continental Airlines was retiring a DC-10 Link-Miles level B simulator. To him this was a very interesting project. But there were many challenges; the simulator itself weighs 12 metric tons, and is very large. In addition to this, there are 12 racks full of electronics, several tons of hydraulic pumps, hydraulics legs, several shelves of documentation, spares, etc.
With this in mind, the Norwegian cooperative Nordic Simulator Center (NSC) was founded. The NSC started a cooperation with Skedsmo Videregående Skole (SVS), the aviation education department, where the simulator is placed.
The NSC now consists of 9 people. We have as our premier target the returning of the simulator to operation - yet without motion, due to building codes relating to the flooring strength. After the simulator has been returned to operational condition, those who desire may schedule appointments and rent sessions in the simulator, under the guidance and attendance of the NSC.
After the simulator was transported from the US to Norway by boat, it was transported by police-escorted trailer to Skedsmo. In addition to this, there were two container trailers carrying hydraulics, computer racks, documentations, spares, etc. After the simulator had been placed in the SVS building, it was jacked up step by step - first using small garage jacks, to around 40 cm. Thereafter, airplane jacks of different sizes were used, until a height of 220 cm was reached. This in itself was a challenge as the simulator weighs 12 metric tons, and measures approximately 4x4x4 meters.
After this, three large steel plates were anchored into the flooring with special bolts. The hydraulics were mounted and the simulator was sunk down to a resting position on the legs. Due to building codes, the simulator motion system will not be engaged, but by experiences in the simulator community, this is not particularily significant. This is because the brain is partly fooled by actions and visual impressions when flying in the simulator.
The next step was to mount the raised flooring. This was built from fibre board and the cables from the simulator were run underneath this and into their respective racks. The racks consisting of three PDP-11 computers, Night Vision System (NVS), logics, 24/60/115VAC (60Hz/400Hz) etc. were then placed in their respective positions.
The later time was spent studying the documentation. 16 archive drawers stuffed with schematics is quite something to get into, but fortunately the documentation is extremely thorough. After studying this, the cables one by one were inserted into the racks and connected to the appropriate points. After a while, circuit by circuit was energized, and lights and sounds appeared in the simulator.
In the dawning year of 2007, we have begun work on the PDP-11 computers themselves. We are connecting the different peripheral units and applying power to these, to then verify that the signals play well with the simulator itself.
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