Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the virtual-reality flight simulator. External supports, etc., are not shown. The insect is tethered at the centre of the acrylic sphere, which is suspended in a gasket. Two customized data projectors project image sequences onto the entire surface of the sphere, which is painted as a back-projection surface. The light path is folded using mirrors to minimize the size of the apparatus and maximize resolution. The insect is mounted on a six-component force–moment balance on the end of a movable sting. In the configuration shown here, the sting is moved in an oscillatory coning motion by a brushless motor, with two further adjustable axes providing static adjustment of sting orientation to adjust the phasing of roll, pitch and yaw. The insect sits at the open mouth of a transparent wind tunnel mounted inside the sphere. The apparatus enables independent stimulation of each of the sensory modalities involved in insect flight control.