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Flight training rooms
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Galactica has several flight training rooms reserved for training of new pilots and practice sessions for her more seasoned Warriors. In the case of training new pilots, these facilities allow for the honing of daggit-fighting skills without any danger of serious injury or damage to military hardware.
One room is fitted with a bank of computers that can be used to display the HUD (Heads-Up Display) configuration of the Viper and familiarize new pilots with the sensitive controls of the fighter.
A more hands-on approach is introduced later in the training program. A partial mock-up of the cockpit and exterior of the Viper is used to teach the combat skills that will be needed to stay alive in the frenetic environment of a space battle.
On one occasion, the majority of Galactica's pilots are unable to perform their patrol duties due to a contagion. A small group of shuttle pilots needs to be trained in order to replace the Fleet's defenses. The Viper simulator proves effectively how dangerous a live combat situation can when Athena "kills" Starbuck (TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I").
Tie-in Material Information
edit- According to Encyclopedia Galactica (a non-canonical piece of merchandise published in 1979):
- Before student Viper pilots can be trusted with one of these expensive and dangerous craft, they must develop special skills and instantaneous responses to the stimuli of ultra-light speed combat. They therefore spend many hours in Simulators. These devices consist of a Viper cockpit with full instrumentation connected to a computerized visual and scanner display. All conditions of battle and formation flying can be created. The pilot is free to learn from his or her beginner mistakes without endangering life in the process. [1]
Notes
edit- The Viper simulator is clearly the actual cockpit mockup used for shots in the show.
- The back projection screen with the star field may also be the one used in production. A projection screen was used for cockpit shots (rather than a blue screen) allowing the actors to see some of the action they were reacting to.
- The training room with the computers may also serve as a ready room for fully trained pilots, as in the Re-imagined Series. The re-imagined battlestar Pegasus is equipped with flight simulators (TRS: "Scar").
References
edit- ↑ Kraus, Bruce (1979). Encyclopedia Galactica, p. 52.