FlightSafety S-92 Simulator Ready In Riyadh By February
Agreement signed with Alpha Star’s Infinity Support Services
FlightSafety International will deliver its first Level D helicopter simulator to the Middle East by year-end, a Sikorsky S-92 model for the new Infinity Aviation Academy in Riyadh.

FlightSafety International continued its non-U.S. expansion in the helicopter training market, signing an agreement at EBACE on Wednesday with Infinity Support Services (ISS). The contract calls for FlightSafety to deliver a Level D flight simulation training device (FSTD) for the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to the new ISS Aviation Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This will be FlightSafety’s first helicopter FSTD in the Middle East and follows recent announcements of S-92 devices for Stavanger, Norway and São Paulo, Brazil.

The Riyadh simulator and other lower-level training devices are expected to be shipped to ISS’s new two-bay facility in November and ready for training by February 2015. The facility will provide training for both civil and military pilots, and the primary customer will be the Saudi Ministry of Interior.

“This new relationship with FlightSafety will offer a higher level of training to meet the needs of the Saudi Arabian market and for other clients in the Middle East,” said Salem Abaid Al Muzeini, COO of ISS. ISS is an aviation-focused business of Alpha Star Aviation Services.

Shafie Sabry, FlightSafety’s Middle East regional sales manager, told AIN, “This is an example of our approach to come closer to the customer.” Sabry noted that FlightSafety has previously provided training for Saudi Arabian Airlines, Aramco and other Saudi clients.

FlightSafety will operate the $267-million ISS facility for the first two years.