Det finns ett detaljerat och mycket intressant Air Force-papper om detta: KAPABILITET AV TOTALT IN-FLIGHT SIMULATOR (TIFS) . Huvuddelen som det gör är att TIFS inte bara handlade om att samla aerodynamiska data, det handlade om att testa flygplanskonfigurationer (inklusive cockpitlayouter) i själva flygningen och träna piloter på dem. Här är några utdrag, men du kan läsa papperet själv för fullständiga detaljer.
Testa olika konfigurationer:
It also surpasses the utility of past variable stability aircraft through the realism possible in its separate, new evaluation cockpit. The capabilities and features of this in-flight simulator considerably broaden the ability of the aircraft designer to deal with difficult trade-offs in flying qualities problems. A base configuration can be set up and then its stability and control characteristics can be systematically varied for investigations to gain research knowledge pertinent to flight vehicle and flight control system design.
Simulera ett antal väldigt olika flygplan:
It has been designed to reproduce in actual flight the flying qualities of a wide range of large airplanes.
Testa olika cockpitkonfigurationer:
The simulation cockpit is removable, so that it can be replaced by other cockpits of different configurations.
Simulera en ny design i flygning, innan den nya designen ens har byggts:
Flight evaluations of the flying qualities of new airplane configurations can be accomplished, such as investigation of the behavior of extremely large airplanes. This can be extended to investigating the flight control characteristics of entirely new types of designs, as for example, reproducing the landing approach flight characteristics of a large re-entry vehicle. [...] The flight characteristics of specific aircraft can be simulated in great detail, both to evaluate flying qualities in advance of the first flight of the actual airplane and to investigate difficulties that may arise during the airplane's flight test program.
Tågpiloter på nya flygplan:
Finally, a well established and highly valuable use of in-flight simulation is pilot training. In-flight simulation of emergency conditions can be conducted safely because, if the evaluation pilot is having control problems, the safety pilot can switch the system off and resume control of the normal base airplane