QSC CX Amps In Flight Simulator Audio Systems

As part of a multi-million dollar renovation now underway at the Northwest Flight Training Center, St. Paul, Minnesota-based Frattalone & Associates is helping to bring new levels of audio realism to 18 full-motion flight simulators using amplifiers from QSC's CX Series.

Initiated as part of a blueprint of planned upgrades designed to meet or exceed new, unprecedented simulator guidelines established by the FAA, the project is developing ways to accurately reproduce virtually every sound of actual flight experience.

"We're dealing with everything from the booming of thunder claps and the low frequency drone of aircraft engines to the high frequency squeal of tires touching down on the tarmac," explains Frattalone & Associates' Tom Dillon. "One of the most demanding effects is that of an engine backfire, which incorporates two heavy, back-to-back 'thuds'. This simulation is extremely taxing on the amplifiers, as it requires sudden, high-energy transfer and demanding low frequency response."

The QSC CX Series products were specified for the project based upon their high output power, damping factor, and reliability. A pair of CX404 amplifiers (a 4-channel amp with 400 watts per channel at 4 ohms) power special effects on each simulator. Rack-mounted in an environmentally controlled clean room, the amps provide two channels for twin JBL Control 25 loudspeakers in the aft section of each cockpit, and two more for JBL Control 25 enclosures built into rudder wells at the feet of each pilot.

Providing the ground-shaking low-end energy required of the project are custom-fabricated subwoofer systems designed by Steven Frattalone. Requiring a minimum of 600 watts for proper operation, the units draw their rumbling force from either a CX404 amplifier with two bridged channels, or bridged mono output from a 2-channel CX302.

The flight training simulators at the Northwest Airlines center include exact replications of the cockpits from Boeing, McDonald-Douglas, and Airbus aircraft. In one simulator retrofit, where Frattalone & Associates' handiwork replaced 38 consumer-grade auto loudspeakers, FAA certifiers favorably noted the high level of accuracy and spatial presence of the system.

Before a pilot is qualified to fly a commercial airplane, he or she spends weeks experiencing normal and unusual circumstances in a full-motion training simulator. The Northwest Airlines training center in Eagan is one of the largest such facilities in the world.