Products

Flight Simulators
Flight Simulators
Full Motion Simulators
Full Motion Simulators
Desktop Simulators
Desktop Simulators
Home Simulators
Home Simulators
Simulator Accessories
Simulator Accessories
Redbird GIFT
Redbird GIFT

Contact Sales →

Looking for more information? We'd love to talk with you.

Making aviation accessible by using modern technology and careful engineering is at the core of everything we do.

Redbird started as a familiar conversation amongst pilots: learning to fly is expensive and hard, but once mastered, few pursuits can match the life changing impacts aviation brings. At first glance, the costs and difficulties seemed intractable, but we thought our collective backgrounds in technology and passion for aviation might provide at least a few solutions. So Redbird was founded in 2006 with the simple idea that we could help make it easier for anyone to become a pilot.

When we set out to revolutionize aviation, our first goal was to build a flight simulation system that provided unheard of training value at a price every flight school could afford.

N45480- The Original RedbirdThe original idea was the obvious one: The best way to make a pilot feel like they are flying a real airplane is to put them in a real airplane. That led us to an aircraft boneyard south of Dallas and the original Redbird, N45480. A decaying Cessna 177 Cardinal RG, we thought she was the perfect prototype. Not long into the development process we realized the idea of using an old fuselage was not as ingenious as we had once thought. So we revised our plans, and N45480 was sent back to quietly repose in the Texas sun. Although our original plans for her didn’t work out, we’ve never forgotten the plane that was once to become the first FMX. How could we? After-all we named the company after her.

After a few more not-quite-right prototypes, we arrived at our first product, the Redbird FMX. Since then we’ve expanded our product line, built new companies to attack the problems of exorbitant aircraft operating costs and lackluster flight training curriculums, and we’ve managed to deliver over 3,000 aviation training devices to 50+ countries.  We’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re proud of the revolutionary changes our employees and customers are bringing to this industry we are all so passionate about.

Todd Willinger and Jerry Gregoire
Idea

April 2006

A group of pilots and tech-heads abandon their social lives to hang out in a barn and develop a better, more affordable flight simulator. Their families are not impressed.

Redbird FMX Concept Design
Founding

November 2006

The group launches Redbird Flight Simulations alongside a prototype of the company's first product, the FMX. Their families actually are very impressed.

Redbird at AirVenture 2007
The Redbird FMX

July 2007

The FMX debuts at EAA AirVenture. Redbird leaves Oshkosh with a pocket full of pre-orders and a notebook full of ideas for improvement.

FAA Approval

September 2008

The Federal Aviation Administration certifies the Redbird FMX and SD as Advanced Aviation Training Devices.

Loggable Desktop Training 

May 2010

Designed with the ergonomics of flight in mind, the TD enters the market as the first, table-mounted Basic Aviation Training Device. 

FMX Cockpit
100th AATD

September 2010

Redbird delivers its 100th Advanced Aviation Training Device since receiving FAA approval two years earlier.

Cockpit-Specific Simulation

March 2011

The company begins manufacturing aircraft model specific training devices and delivers its first knob-for-knob replica of a Piper Meridian.

The First Annual Redbird Migration

October 2011

Redbird introduces the Migration Flight Training Conference, the first event focused on solutions to the real-world problems facing flight schools and university aviation programs.

Dual Controls

October 2011

At Migration, the company unveils the MCX, a full-motion simulator with a dual, control-loading yoke system designed to enhance the training of student pilots and professional crews alike.

Full Motion for Small Spaces

July 2012

Redbird re-engineers its motion platform for a new training device, the MX2,  which offers all the motion capabilities of its larger devices and occupies as little as 9' x 12' of floor space.

Plug & Play Proficiency

February 2013

The company releases the JAY, a versatile desktop simulator designed for pilots, aviation STEM programs, and home simulation enthusiasts to get flying with minimal fuss.

 

Jerry Gregoire
Ten Disruptive Years Later

November 2016

Redbird celebrates its tenth year as a company. Speeches are given. Laughs are had. Beers are consumed. 

Flight Training 2.0

July 2017

Guided Independent Flight Training (GIFT), Redbird's revolutionary simulator-based, AI-powered, maneuvers training supplement, launches at AirVenture.

Looking Ahead

The Future of Flight Training

More than ever before, we’re developing products for the lifecycle of the pilot and the aviation professional. Increasingly, simulation technology is proving ideal for tracking and improving the historical proficiency of pilots and thus providing flight schools and educational institutions with the tools to become more operationally efficient.

We Believe in General Aviation

While we’re firm in our capitalist views, we also know that we're part of the greater General Aviation community and we take that responsibility very seriously. Redbird collaborates with a wide range of groups across the aviation spectrum, and even some from outside aviation. From organizations that preach the gospel of flight to the uninitiated, to groups that focus on making all of us better pilots, to the industry veterans that we’ve all looked up to as student pilots trying to solo. These partnerships are an important key to our past and future success. They protect our right to fly, bring new pilots into the fold, and help us to provide you with better products and better access to those products. We encourage you to support these groups with your time, interest, and if you're able, money. General Aviation doesn’t stand a chance without the passion, dedication, and commitment of groups like these.


Latest News