Definition
A flight simulator subsystem that physically moves the cockpit to reproduce the accelerations, tilts, and vibrations a pilot would feel in actual flight, providing the body with sensory information that matches what is shown on the instruments and visual display.
Plain English
The part of a simulator that tilts, shakes, and moves the cockpit so the pilot's body feels like it is really flying, not just looking at a screen.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of flight simulators, flight training devices, and how realistically they reproduce aircraft handling.
Derivation
The word 'cue' comes from theater, where it meant a signal telling an actor what to do next. A force cueing system gives the pilot's body physical signals — pushes, tilts, vibrations — that 'cue' the brain into believing the aircraft is responding to control inputs.
Why Pilots Care
Realistic force and motion feedback improves the transfer of skills from simulator to aircraft and reduces the risk of negative training.
Analogy
It is like a driving simulator wheel that pushes back against your hands when the simulated car turns or speeds up. The wheel is not on a real road, but the feel helps you react more naturally.
Grounding Statement
In a simulator, the force (motion) cueing system may make the controls feel heavier, lighter, or move the seat slightly so the pilot gets a body sense of what the simulated aircraft is doing.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as a system that creates the full real forces of flight. It gives selected physical cues that imitate aircraft feel well enough to support training.
Example Sentence 1
The full-motion simulator's force cueing system tilted the cockpit back as the student applied takeoff power, mimicking the feel of acceleration down the runway.
Example Sentence 2
During turbulence training the motion platform and control loaders worked together to give the student realistic buffet cues.