Not quite Top Gun, but new flight simulator centre at Changi targets corporate trainees, youths

SINGAPORE — Instead of sitting in mundane training rooms, company bosses and executives can soon pick up leadership and crisis management skills by being thrown into a "high-pressure environment" at the controls of a fighter jet simulator. 

Be it leading a squadron of fighter jets into battle, or soaring over mountainous valleys closing in on mission objectives, the corporate trainees can hone their leadership and decision-making skills at a new retail flight simulator centre called Wings Academy.   

Officially launched on Tuesday (May 30), the facility at Haite Building in Changi Business Park can take up to 30 persons at a time.

It houses six flight simulators, including an F/A18-C Hornet mixed-reality fighter jet simulator, an F16-C fighter plane simulator, and a Boeing 737-800 commercial flight simulator.

The company says it is the largest such facility here and that besides corporate training programmes, it aims to inspire the next generation of pilots among Singapore’s youth through immersive, yet affordable flight simulator experiences with the vision of “making flight dreams accessible and achievable for all”.

While there are no age restrictions, users should be at least 145cm tall to be able to use the simulators optimally, the company's owner and chief executive officer Fabian Lim told TODAY.

Mr Lim, 52, is not new to the aviation industry, having founded a private flight school called FlightSchool.sg in 2016. 

“My goal is to expose more people to the world of aviation in an affordable manner, particularly the younger generation. To give them an opportunity to get up close to the cockpit of various airplanes with the hopes of igniting their passion for aviation,” he told TODAY.

Mr Lim also hopes that parents will support their children who show interest in aviation. 

“I think this is important because aviation is a lifelong career, and parents need to be able to appreciate it, as well as provide mental and financial support sometimes. We provide that kind of an environment where the parents can be alongside the kid."

Mr Lim likens an interest in aviation to a self-discovery process which may not always end up with an individual obtaining a flying licence.

“To me, if you come to us and find out that maybe flying wasn’t really your cup of tea, then we have done our job anyway. If there’s no good fit, you get to exit at a fairly low cost," he said.

Wings Academy charges different rates based on the duration and type of programme. 

For instance, a 45-minute session on the F/A18-C Hornet mixed-reality simulator costs S$95 while a 10-week Recreational Pilot Certificate Preparatory Course is priced at S$2,495.

Each flight simulator has a slightly different setup.

The F/A18-C Hornet mixed-reality simulator features a single-seat cockpit, with a mixed-reality headset and interactive instruments.

On the other hand, the Boeing 737-800 simulator comes with realistic cockpit controls and curved screens acting as the plane's windows.

However, users of the flight simulators will not experience the same huge gravitational forces as real fighter jet pilots, or actors in the Top Gun movie franchise such as Tom Cruise who famously flew the fighter jets themselves, do.

Top Gun is named after the United States Navy's elite fighter jet school with the same name.

For corporate professionals, Wings Academy offers an aviation-themed leadership and management training programme named “The Skyward Leadership Program: High-Altitude Decision-Making for CEOs and Senior Executives”.

The eight-hour programme costs S$12,000 for one person, with additional participants having to pay S$3,000 each.

Dr Michael Loh, 66, a corporate advisor of Wings Academy, said using flight simulators to place company bosses and executives in high-pressure situations faced by pilots could help them to improve decision-making skills, crisis management ability and communication styles.

“Nowadays, business is becoming more and more unpredictable. Many things can go very wrong at the last minute,” he said.

“So here you are in a plane, where it is high pressure, and very immersive.”

He cited how trainees may take on the role of a squadron leader with a few pilots under his or her wing.

"I think it’s a fantastic scenario, to lead a group of very diverse, talented, but opinionated people. How do you manage that? How do you get everybody on board without upsetting anybody?” he said.

“In the business world, it’s the same thing. If you don’t manage your team well, your burn rate is very high and you’ll fall behind your competitors.”

Dr Loh added that trainees in the leadership programme may experience other scenarios such as extreme weather conditions, bird strikes where birds collide with the plane’s engines, and last-minute detours due to a lack of landing space. 

“It gives you a sense of self-awareness... you realise how you reacted, and understand how you can improve.”