Thales Training & Simulation (Booth 4255) is creating a network of training centers that will offer training in its Reality H helicopter flight simulators. An Airbus AS350 Ecureuil/AStar simulator is now in service in Albertville, France, and coming soon will be an Airbus EC225 simulator in Stavanger, Norway and an AgustaWestland AW139 sim in Brisbane, Australia.

Such training devices have been proven effective, but Thales still has to educate pilots and potential customer operators. “We highlight three aspects, the first one being safety; in real flight, some failures are too dangerous to recreate, so emergency procedures can be better taught in a sim,” Vincent Megaides, strategy and marketing director for Thales Training & Simulation, told AIN. He mentioned examples of emergencies such as hydraulic failures, loss of spatial cues and even autorotations. The second aspect is cost, as an hour spent in the device is much cheaper than a flight hour in a real helicopter. Finally, the training session starts immeidately with the targeted situation, as the instructor and the student do not have to take off and fly to a suitable training location.

Thales’s Reality H technology features a common structure for all simulated types. The dome, actuators and a large part of the software are the same. “We change the cockpit and the flight loop,” Megaides said.

In Albertville, in the French Alps, the AS350 simulator joins an EC135 simulator operated by SAF Helicopteres, a specialist in mountain aerial work and EMS operations. Thales and SAF share a building, maintenance and spare parts, and a partnership agreement allows each company to offer training hours on the two devices. The AS350 has been available since October.

In Brisbane, Thales is partnering with helicopter air ambulance operator CareFlight Group to launch Australia's first civil helicopter training center for the AW139. Starting in 2016, a level-D flight simulator will operate at CareFlight Group’s aeromedical training academy at Brisbane Airport. The simulator will allow use of night-vision goggles and scenarios such as major technical failures, severe weather and offshore flying.

In Stavanger, offshore operator Blueway (part of NHV Group) will be the launch customer in a facility planned to open this year. Norwegian and other Nordic countries’ flight scenarios will be implemented in the simulator. The 10-year contract calls for an EC225 configuration, however, the modularity of the simulator will allow the service provider to respond to changes in Blueway’s training needs as they arise, Thales explained. A further objective for the center will be to open up new areas of training to support defense and search-and-rescue operations in the region.