Atwater flight academy’s simulator takes elected officials for a ride

A multimillion-dollar flight simulator at Sierra Flight Academy gave a Merced County supervisor the flight of his life this week.

“I was really surprised by the reality of it – feeling the tilting and the visuals,” said District 3 Supervisor Daron McDaniel. “It was amazing. I can’t believe how realistic it was.”

McDaniel joined Atwater Councilman Brian Raymond on Tuesday for a ride inside the flight school’s 11-ton Boeing 737 simulator. The device, which will be used to train students and recertify pilots, simulates the sights, sounds and sensations of the real jetliner.

The simulator hasn’t been operational because of a few technical issues, according to Dave Marcum, Sierra’s device manager. He said the simulator has to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration before it can be used by the students.

FAA officials recently came to Sierra to test the device, but two power cords and a connector went down. Marcum said Sierra Flight Academy is running daily tests for about a week before they contact FAA for another visit.

Once it’s operational, the simulator will run for 20 hours every day of the week. It has the ability to “fly” students to any part of the country and simulate real-life scenarios, such as fog, snow or rain. The Atwater flight school trains pilots from China, Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan.

“The purpose is to take a student and introduce him to the aircraft and train him on how to deal with any problem,” Marcum said.

The hands-on training teaches students how to react to situations they could encounter in the air. Officials use information from previous airliner emergencies to provide them with some experience on how to handle such situations.

The simulator, which was manufactured in Canada, arrived at Sierra’s facility at the former Castle Air Force Base in December 2013. Flight academy officials say they plan to have six to eight simulators in the future. They are considering expanding to a nearby vacant building that was once a church.

The flight school has called Castle Commerce Center its home since 2006. As the school grows, officials have entered into multiple leases with the county for sites at Castle, including 18 acres of land in 2013 to build a fixed-base operation with corporate hangars and a fuel facility.

The simulator sits inside a building once occupied by The Challenger Learning Center. It was vacant for nearly a year after the center closed in 2012 because of financial problems. Sierra recently made an offer to buy the 45,000-square-foot building from the county for $750,000, according to county documents.

The sale was approved by the Board of Supervisors last week.

Bob Deklinski, director of airport development for Sierra Air Center Development, said the flight school also purchased 7.43 acres of land – the parking lot of the building. Sierra plans to construct another building to hold additional simulators.

The business growth shown by Sierra is an example of what’s needed to help redevelop and reuse the former Atwater military base, according to McDaniel.

“I think it demonstrates an ability for other businesses to come into Castle,” McDaniel said. “If Sierra flight school is able to do it, it shows the opportunity is out here for many other folks.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 8:49 PM with the headline "Atwater flight academy’s simulator takes elected officials for a ride."