Sitting in the flight simulator it’s easy for prospective air tanker pilots to think they are at the command of an elaborate video game, said the air attack officer who developed the program.

And although the program uses Microsoft Flight Simulator and looks like a gaming machine found at an arcade, the application is strictly practical, Shawn Lund said Tuesday.

“Here, in real time, we can fly around the world if we wanted to,” said Lund.

Lund, with the help of retired air tanker pilot Win Muff, started work on the simulator four years ago. At the time, prospective pilots travelled to California as part of their training and spent two days in a simulator there.

He looked at the program in Sacramento and knew something similar could be built in B.C, said Lund.

“It wasn’t as complicated as what I thought they might have,” he said.

At one time pilots learned how to operate an air tanker at the helm of a real aircraft. Air attack officer Paul Buxton-Carr said the Sacramento simulator required less time in the air, therefore reducing training costs.

Having a simulator at the Provincial Wildfire Co-ordination Centre in Kamloops reduces the expense even more.

A two-day trip for two pilots to Sacramento cost $15,000. Lund’s flight simulator was built for $10,000, said Buxton-Carr.

“We put one guy through training and it covered the cost alone,” he said.

Lund took a Beech Baron aircraft for a spin over Smithers on Tuesday afternoon. The roar of the Baron’s engine filled the simulator and the view through four computer screens resembled the region.

“A lot of guys can get into the sim and tell me where they are in the province,” he said.

Lund adds to the realism of the program all the time. The other day, he programmed in smoke to rise from the fires. He’s also programming in different varieties of aircraft.

Buxton-Carr has flown real air tankers and finds Lund’s program very realistic.

“Everything works the way it would in an aircraft,” he said, adding trainees have left the simulator drenched in sweat because of the intensity.

Lund was awarded a Director’s Award for Innovation by the Wildfire Management Branch in 2009. Jeff Berry, superintendent of the Provincial Airtanker Program, said it’s great Lund was recognized for his achievement.

“It is amazing that there is someone in our organization that has the skill to produce such an invaluable tool,” said Berry.