Rafale flight test toulouse
As in the Eurofighter Typhoon, they're all interchangeable, in case of personal preference or battle damage. The MFDs on either side of the display are touch screens. The display seems to rise up to the pilot, so the pilot's eyes don't have to refocus from the horizon outside to the screens inside. From the outside, it appears strange, but sitting inside the cockpit while flying, it all makes sense. The central MFD of the Eurofighter is replaced by a hooded Collimated to Infinity display. The Rafale's cockpit is tighter than the Eurofighter’s, but that doesn't mean that the Rafale, a slightly smaller plane, is less advanced technologically.
RAFALE FLIGHT TEST TOULOUSE SIMULATOR
A day later, I flew the Dassault Rafale simulator under instruction by a test pilot and engineer. But then, I belong to the joystick generation: I'm far more comfortable with buttons and screens than dials. The cockpit is large, spacious and comfortable, and it feels very different from the cockpit of an F-16, Rafale, MiG-29 or Jaguar. The Eurofighter has a highly advanced "man-machine interface". The jet I had flown was the Eurofighter GMBH consortium's pilot-training simulator. Three large LCD screens called Multi-Functional Displays (MFD) glowed at me as I lay back in the couch, with knobs and switches relegated to the sides. "If I may say so, I helped design some of this," Penrise later explained, sweeping his hand over the futuristic cockpit. There were two unknown aircraft far in the distance, beyond my visual range - or BVR. It had a colour map of the area I was flying over, and lines radiating out of the centre. Immediately two triangles came up, and I looked down at the large central screen. Then I flicked a switch, and the Heads-Up Display (HUD) changed to air-to-air combat mode. The throttle grip came back with a solid thunk, and I saw my engine power reduce on the left LCD screen. And ease back on the throttle." I levelled out the wings and pulled back on the throttle, switching off the afterburners.
Immediately, gratefully, I pulled up on the stick, watching the power plant fly away directly under me. "Pickle it!" I thumbed the red button on my stick. A red flashing sign suddenly appeared on the right hand screen, a red box surrounding the word "pickle"! I was flying the Eurofighter Typhoon, coached by Craig Penrise, lead test pilot for the aircraft. The sky was clear but dark, the sun close to setting. Green lines superimposed on the view in front of me showed me my angle of attack, my speed and altitude. They were both thick, black and felt solid as I gripped them. The plane was in a shallow dive: I was flying closer and closer to the ground at a speed of more than 550 knots, my hands nervously holding the throttle and stick. On the right hand colour display screen, a close up image of the plant appeared. Please contact us for subscription options.Read more "There it is, on your HUD, your ground target!" A box encircled the nuclear power station, showing me the large cooling towers of the target. Its defense budget is projected to reach around €5.5 billion, more than double last year’s spending.ĭespite economic hardships, the Mediterranean country spent 2.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense in 2019.Īnadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Greece is planning to buy six new and 12 secondhand Rafale jets from France and will spend €400 million on related equipment. Six months ago Greece signed a €2.5 billion ($3.03 billion) deal with France for the purchase of 18 Dassault-made Rafale fighter jets. Greece on Wednesday received the first of 18 French fighter jets, part of a deal inked during elevated tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.Īfter a ceremony at Dassault Aviation flight test center in Istres, France, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said: "The choice of buying the Rafale French fighter jets underlines the strategic character of Greek-French relations and France's undivided support of Greece, before challenges and threats."