With 15 pilot colleagues looking over his shoulder, Nicholas Plumer flawlessly rolled the airplane down the runway centerline. All smiles as he stepped out of the Frasca Cirrus SR22 simulator at the Learn to Fly Center at the 2009 AOPA Summit in Tampa, FL, he nodded to the spectators with confidence.

Plumer was one hundreds of pilots and non-pilots who demoed the simulators first-hand, thanks to Frasca who brought three such simulators to the Summit to inspire those non-pilots not already hooked on flying.

At AOPA Summit, flight simulator developers and operators discussed the cutting edge technology available for students and experienced pilots, with ground-based training devices. Flight simulators reduce the cost of training, and allow students to experience emergency situations from the safety of a classroom before entering the cockpit.

It seems staying grounded will get you up in the air sooner and better educated and prepared, so was the consensus at the AOPA Aviation Summit. With flight simulators, students can practice virtual flights, without the expense of avgas or even log time. In fact, a flight student can log up to 20 hours of intricate training without ever leaving the ground.

“And it’s totally awesome,” said several wannabe pilots as they exited the simulator to quickly search out where others were located at the convention. Check out the AOPA website for a complete wrap up of this year’s AOPA Aviation Summit.