A jet is roaring down the runway. Prepare for takeoff!

The jet flies for just a few minutes. Then strong winds begin to blow the plane off course. But the pilot doesn’t worry. The plane he’s flying isn’t real. The storm isn’t real, either.

This pilot is using a flight simulator. That’s a machine that trains pilots to fly. Simulators allow pilots and their crews to practice before they take to the skies for real.

The Boeing 787 is a fancy new airplane. Some call it the Dreamliner. Pilots need serious training to use Dreamliner’s advanced equipment.

A flight simulator is a copycat. It tries to copy what it’s like to fly an airplane. It lets pilots practice. They can handle the pretend plane’s controls. They can see how the real airplane would react to altitude (how high the plane is). They see how a plane handles bad weather. The Dreamliner copycat feels just like flying the real plane.

Pilots in the American Airlines 787 training program spend up to a month flying the Dreamliner simulator. After that they must fly the real plane—with a trainer. Only then can they fly with a jet full of passengers. Finally, all that practice pays off!