MANCHESTER, N.H. (CBS) - Lockheed Martin was showcasing a flight simulator for their newest jet on Thursday at a regional robotics competition in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Kids participating in the competition and some New Hampshire lawmakers tried out the simulator as they got a first-hand look at what could be a big boost for the state's economy.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic had a chance to try the flight simulator, too:

The F-35 Lightning II flight simulator is an exact replica of the real stealth fighter jet.

With this model, there are no instrument dials; just a video screen displaying what a pilot would need. Lockheed makes the jet and Rob Rubino says they don't need instrument dials anymore:

"It gives the pilot one God's eye view of what's going on around the plane, so they can now be a tactician and execute their mission," said Rubino.

This jet also means good things for New Hampshire's economy. Rubino says Lockheed will eventually build over 3,400 F-35's, with some of them being built in the Granite State.

"Right now we have about 4,800 jobs that are related to the program, and as we start building more airplanes year over year, that's only gonna increase. So there is, from an economy's perspective, a big impact," said Rubino.

BAE Systems does some electronic work and Richard Tucker says that means good, steady jobs:

"We currently employ about 1,000 people. We also put a lot of work out into the supply base, both here and Massachusetts, probably about 3,800 people if you take all of that into account," said Tucker.