Lufthansa Flight Training (LFT) have over 40 hydraulic,6-axis flight simulators for Airbus, Boeing & Bombardier aircraft located at several locations within Germany.
In 2005 LFT were informed by a key supplier that an essential servo valve product line (Pegasus) would be discontinued and that all existing units still in service would no longer be supported.A proposal to replace all 6 servo valves, actuators, feedback sensors and drive amplifiers was both expensive and highly disruptive to LFT’s operations as the flight simulators must operate 24/7 due to flight crew demands.
LFT subsequently invited Star to their main engineering facility located in Frankfurt to discuss hardware and functionality requirements September 2005. By January 2006 the first model 990-1001 was installed providing a form, fit and function replacement and integrating Star’s Sapphire Technology which extends operational lifetime (originally developed in 1988 for British Aerospace’s aircraft life cycle programs). The model 990-2002 also includes safety abort functionality to override the main stage spool in the event of loss of either command signals or hydraulic pressure.