Data at Your Fingertips - How Logging and Monitoring Systems Can Transform Simulator Maintenance

Maintaining Full Flight Simulators requires significant data collection

When you're working with high value assets like full flight simulators, every second counts. Training schedules are often managed down to the minute, and any unexpected downtime can disrupt not only the operator but also the airlines and crews who depend on those sessions. As simulators age, the complexity of maintenance increases, and as such, so does the challenge of keeping them running smoothly. This is where effective logging and monitoring systems come to the fore, offering technicians and engineers a powerful way to stay ahead of failures, optimise maintenance, and protect training availability.

Simulator Maintenance Transformed: Why Logging and Monitoring Matter

For many (many!) years, technicians and engineers relied primarily on experience and instinct to diagnose many different problems. A flickering light, an unusual sound from a motion actuator, or an intermittent fault were all clues pieced together by skilled engineers. While experience is still invaluable, modern simulators generate a significant amount of digital data that, if harnessed correctly, can provide maintainers with unprecedented insight into the health of the system.

Logging systems continuously capture information on key subsystems, from motion and visual systems to control loading and avionics interfaces. Monitoring tools can analyse this data in real time, alerting technicians when performance drifts outside expected tolerances. Instead of reacting after a fault has brought a training session to a halt, teams can address issues while they are still developing.

From Reactive to Proactive Maintenance

Traditionally, much simulator maintenance has been a reactive endeavour. A component fails, the simulator goes down, and the team scrambles to restore functionality. While effective in the moment, this approach carries obvious drawbacks. Unexpected failures disrupt training, reduce simulator availability, and can even affect compliance if testing windows are missed.

Engineers can use log data to diagnose faults

With modern logging and monitoring systems, maintenance can shift from reactive to proactive. For example, by reviewing logs, a technician might spot that an electro-mechanical motion actuator is drawing slightly more current than usual. Left unchecked, this could lead to a failure during a session. Addressed early, the actuator can be serviced or replaced at a scheduled downtime, avoiding the potential disruption.

This approach is about more than simple convenience, it directly supports the bottom line. Maximising simulator availability ensures operators get the most from their investment, and it protects the integrity of crew training programmes.

Real-World Examples

Consider a visual system where one channel intermittently drops sync. Without logging, this might appear as a random and frustrating fault, difficult to reproduce during troubleshooting. With proper logging in place, patterns may emerge, perhaps the fault appears after a certain number of hours, or only during specific environmental conditions. This information is critical for pinpointing root causes.

Similarly, monitoring the thermal performance of projectors can highlight when cooling systems are under stress. Instead of waiting for a lamp to overheat and fail mid-session, technicians can intervene, cleaning filters or adjusting airflow, preserving both equipment and training continuity.

Trend Analysis and Predictive Maintenance

Logging is not only useful for immediate troubleshooting, it also enables trend analysis over time. By examining historical data, maintenance teams can identify slow drifts in system performance that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Control loading systems are a frequent cause of maintenance issues that can cause compliance concerns

For instance, a control loading system may show a gradual increase in latency across several months. While each session individually remains within tolerance, the long-term trend indicates a component wearing out. By predicting when performance will drop below acceptable levels, the team can schedule intervention at the optimal time, balancing reliability with cost efficiency.

This predictive maintenance model, widely used in other industries, is particularly powerful for simulators where uptime is critical. It allows operators to avoid catastrophic failures and plan investments more strategically.

Challenges in Implementing Logging and Monitoring

Of course, implementing these systems is not without challenges. Older training devices may lack integrated logging functionality, requiring the development of bespoke solutions or third-party tools. Even when data is available, the volume can be overwhelming without effective filtering and visualisation.

Another hurdle is technician training. Capturing logs is only part of the equation, knowing how to interpret them and translate patterns into actionable maintenance steps is what unlocks real value. This requires both technical knowledge and a mindset shift, from firefighting to long-term system stewardship.

The Role of Third-Party Providers

As simulators age and OEM support diminishes, third-party providers increasingly play a role in enabling advanced logging and monitoring. Some offer hardware add-ons, such as dedicated sensors or data capture devices, while others provide software platforms that integrate and analyse simulator outputs.

3rd party tools can be a lifeline for older devices

Working with these providers can help operators modernise legacy simulators without the need for full system overhauls. For example, installing monitoring modules on ageing power supplies or cooling systems can extend the life of existing equipment, ensuring training continuity while larger upgrades are planned.

Why It Matters for Safety

It is worth remembering that simulators are not just simple machines, they are an increasingly essential piece of the aviation safety puzzle. Every session delivered with accurate fidelity and reliability helps prepare pilots for the challenges of real-world operations. By ensuring simulators remain accurate, stable and available, technicians directly contribute to the wider safety ecosystem of aviation.

Logging and monitoring systems enhance this responsibility. They provide the tools to verify that simulators are performing as intended, and to intervene before small issues undermine training effectiveness. In this sense, they are not simply a maintenance convenience, but a safeguard for safety-critical training.

Looking Ahead

Flight Simulators evolve, and so do their maintenance requirements

As the aviation industry continues to evolve, so too will the expectations placed on simulators. Higher utilisation rates, more advanced training scenarios, and integration with new aircraft configurations all add pressure on ageing devices. Logging and monitoring will become ever more important, not only for maintaining reliability but also for demonstrating compliance and auditability to regulators.

Future systems may incorporate artificial intelligence to predict failures with even greater accuracy, or cloud-based platforms that allow operators to benchmark performance across fleets of simulators worldwide. Regardless of the technology, the underlying principle remains the same, data-driven insights give technicians the power to keep simulators flying.

What to do?

For simulator operators and maintainers alike, logging and monitoring should not be considered optional extras any longer, they are essential tools in the battle against downtime. They can transform maintenance from a reactive scramble into a proactive strategy, safeguarding both training schedules and aviation safety.

We have seen first-hand how effective logging and monitoring can extend the life of simulators, reduce costs, and support the vital work of training crews. By making use of these systems, operators can ensure their simulators remain reliable assets, ready to serve the next generation of pilots.