As some of you guys might know, i was in Dallas a few weeks ago. And also some of you might know, my parents are both pilots for southwest.
Because of this, I was able to get a tour of the SWA HQ in Dallas!
Enough talking, into the neat stuff!
Starting off with one of the huge classrooms, this one was apparently for FA’s in training. Now before covid, they would have a lot more chairs and tables. But still, these classrooms are huge!
Just a quick picture of what some of the hallways look like! Down every hallway, and on every side, are pictures of everything SWA!
On to one of the break rooms. These are large spaces in which crew members going through training and or recurrent training, when they get a break, are able to come out and lounge around. There’s air hockey tables, ping pong, and foosball. There are also plenty of tables and chairs. I definitely did not play ping pong with my dad
Along with some counters and vending machines for some snacks and drinks. As with the hallways, there’s plenty of SWA pictures and memorabilia as well!
One of the first simulator types, this one is for basic training and checklist procedures.
The second large area is for mostly training flight attendants. Here they can practice, in an emergency, opening the door and jumping down the inflatable slide.
Also along the wall, is a plaque of every graduating class of pilots and flight attendants. When they graduate, they all choose a charity to donate $737 to.
Here’s a little TV monitor displaying neat information of all large SWA hubs/focus cities
Within another room, is another area for FA’s to practice various tasks related to the flotation rafts. If the aircraft had to ditch. The true size of these rafts are huge.
Here’s one of the more advanced simulators to practice larger scenarios before moving into the full motion sim. These simulators are built to replicate the full cockpit down to every last button.
The 2nd picture is for the trainer, by pressing a few buttons on the monitors, he can replicate any emergency you can think of, which will then appear on the simulator. The trainer also plays the role of dispatch and air traffic control
Now it’s onto the good stuff. Here is the large building, which is built to withstand a Category 3 hurricane, and it also houses 18 full motion simulators. Divided up between -700, -800, and MAX 8s.
Here is the cockpit of a -700. If you were a regular person, you couldn’t tell the difference between the real airplane, and the simulator. And that’s because you can’t. It’s literally the same exact thing as the real airplane. And it also replicates motion too, so if you turn left, the simulator leans left. Likewise if you pull up, it leans up.
Here is the simulator of a max 8. You can find the difference between the 737-700 and -800s and the max 8 by the max 8s larger screens within the cockpit. As well as the larger engines at AT winglets.
And that is basically it! There were some things I was not able to see because they were either off limits or being used.
I hope you enjoyed this topic as much as I enjoyed making it!
