Ben Lambertson
Title: Founder and CEO
Company: Ace Simulations
Age: 18
Lambertson, an engineering student at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, founded Ace Simulations in 2022 to provide low-cost build plans for flight simulators. The company offers do-it-yourself flight simulator build plans as well as pre-assembled and tested flight simulators, which are built from real aircraft components.
“These simulators provide an incredible degree of immersion and can be used for training, or just for fun, all at a fraction of the cost,” Lambertson said.
Ace Simulations has sold dozens of its DIY Cessna 172 flight simulator build plans to customers worldwide.
The company has built three DIY flight simulators and is beginning work on two new custom simulators. It’s also in negotiations with a few potential customers for its latest Jabiru custom simulator, which the company built from a real Jabiru 170 aircraft and retrofitted it with realistic Garmin avionics.
Ace Simulations aims to continue raising awareness for aviation in schools and is working on a few partnerships that could yield “exciting opportunities,” Lambertson said.
“It is extremely rewarding for me to take a step back every once in a while and see how far the company has come,” he said. “I have learned so much by taking what was simply an idea and making it a reality. I am equally excited to see where Ace Simulations will be in five more years.”
Read about the rest of this year's honorees here.
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