Flight Works Alabama

Flight Works Alabama is a large exhibition center/museum in Brookley, Alabama. Its Cockpit Simulator Challenge is a simulator exhibit that allows visitors to fly in a A320 or Eurofighter Typhoon on a motion base tied into the simulator.

See Flight Works Alabama at their website.

Flight simulator exhibit software

  • Platform: PC
  • Project Length: 2 years (2019-2021)
  • Role: Mission designer, developer
  • Tools: Prepar3D (custom SDKs), Clickteam Fusion
  • Design: I was responsible for the design of seven separate missions from loose objectives as defined by the stakeholders. These all had to be translated into a minute-by-minute breakdown to allow museum facilitators to plan guest throughput.
  • Scripting: Using XML and the visual and text scripting in FSX/P3D, I developed seven different missions; four for the original project and three for an expansion project.
  • Development: I created a separate application for a queueing system that integrated with the flight simulator. This allowed for museum facilitators to ticket guests for use of the exhibit.
  • UI: I created the universal panel display used by the missions designed for the simulator. This included variable information (depending on the aircraft used) as well as a virtual co-pilot.
  • Production: I was responsible for coordinating the development of animated art assets from a third party for use with the virtual co-pilot.


Drone Expansion (2021)

The Drone Expansion for the Cockpit Simulator Challenge provided for a separate partner exhibit using monitors and controllers rather than the full HOTAS/chair interface. This included three unmanned drone missions integrated with the queueing system designed for the Cockpit Simulator Challenge.

Cockpit Simulator Challenge (2020)

The Cockpit Simulator Challenge is a series of four missions for a full-motion simulator designed to a tight time schedule. Each is designed to take about five minutes to capture specific exciting parts of flight, including takeoff, landing, and combat.