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We are simulating a "simulator bay" (with simulators) within a simulation and were wondering if there were any announcements made over the loudspeaker audible to people inside or outside the simulators. Thinking of these large 5-simulator buildings like FlightSafety operates so anyone that spends a lot of time there (instructors, airline new-hires, someone headed there for recurrent training)... any help is appreciated. Thinking of things like:

  1. Bay 5 is now available, bay 5 is now available
  2. James Mahan, please report to bay 4 for your check-ride
  3. Maintenance crew to bay 1, maintenance crew to bay 1
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    $\begingroup$ You're creating a flight simulator simulator? How meta. $\endgroup$
    – Zach Lipton
    Apr 25, 2019 at 21:58
  • $\begingroup$ Any simulation should be designed to be an immersive experience, whether it's a simple PC application, or a full motion flight simulator. Any stimulus that is not part of the simulation itself breaks that immersive experience. So …. no. $\endgroup$
    – alephzero
    Apr 26, 2019 at 9:58
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    $\begingroup$ Vomit cleanup team to Bay 4, repeat, Vomit cleanup team to Bay 4. $\endgroup$
    – Robert Columbia
    Apr 26, 2019 at 15:25
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    $\begingroup$ The main problem is when you exit the simulator, you might still be in the simulator. How will you know when you're back in the real world??? See, this is how The Matrix happened... $\endgroup$
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Apr 26, 2019 at 17:28
  • $\begingroup$ Any reason you can't do this purely visual, with monitors or other wall-mounted screens? $\endgroup$
    – Mast
    Apr 26, 2019 at 19:53

2 Answers 2

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My experience with the military is that loudspeaker announcements like this do NOT occur in simulator buildings. They would be both distracting and largely unnecessary when there are land lines and published schedules available.

Besides the simulators themselves there are briefing and debriefing rooms where crews and instructors are discussing conduct of the events. Frequent loudspeaker announcements would interrupt these discussions and negatively impact the learning process.

A simulator building is much closer to the environment of a classroom or library than it is to a busy airport, train station, or other public area where you would hear announcements of the type you describe.

Depending on how much realism you are striving for there are some distinctive sounds you will hear in a room full of full motion simulators. These range from the low frequency industrial hum of HVAC and equip cooling fans, to the higher pitched whine of hydraulic pumps, to the swoosh and thump sounds of actuating cylinders moving and hitting bump stops during more aggressive motions associated with unusual attitude or spin recoveries. Up at the control console it will be a bit more muted, but you will hear the crew ICS and radio communications over a speaker, stall warning horns, GPWS alerts, etc.

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My answer applies to the 141 training programs I've been a part of; Michael Hall's answer is correct - there are no loudspeaker announcements made, with one rare but important exception:

"FIRE ALARM IN SIMULATOR BAY. EVACUATE. EVACUATE."

Of course, since almost any commercial-use building has fire alarms and fire drills, this isn't especially interesting for your specific case.

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    $\begingroup$ Good point with the exception! $\endgroup$
    – Michael Hall
    Apr 25, 2019 at 18:08
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    $\begingroup$ Don't worry, it's just a simulated fire. $\endgroup$
    – Mark
    Apr 26, 2019 at 0:22
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    $\begingroup$ Actually, it's probably just a simulated drill! $\endgroup$
    – Dannie
    Apr 26, 2019 at 11:42
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    $\begingroup$ @Mark Don't worry, it's just a simulated life. $\endgroup$
    – FooBar
    Apr 26, 2019 at 12:22
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    $\begingroup$ Even then, the PA announcement in this case should not be for the trainees; on-demand intercom through the simulation audio system for emergencies should be a typical safety requirement, since there's no guarantee the trainees can hear the PA properly through aviation headsets. The building itself will have standard fire safety protocols and alarms, such that a PA system will not be necessary. $\endgroup$
    – aerobot
    Apr 26, 2019 at 14:13

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