A reality H full-flight simulator from Thales has been acquired by Caverton Helicopters for AW139 pilot training.
According to the airline, the simulator is expected to contribute to improving the overall safety of helicopter flights in the country and will be installed within Caverton Flight Training Academy at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Thales said that the move was a important step forward in Caverton’s move into flight simulation training services.
The firm said, “They have chosen to rely on Thales’s AW139-configured Reality H Full-Flight Simulator to accomplish this ambition. The simulator will be installed at Caverton’s new training centre, designed to meet the increased demand for helicopter pilot training and, in particular, to eliminate the challenges experienced by many pilots aiming to obtain initial and recurrent training.
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“The training centre’s ultimate aim is to improve the overall safety of helicopter flights in the Nigerian and regional aviation sector. The centre is being set up on the same site as Caverton’s purpose-built Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
“The Thales Reality H Full Flight Simulator is the world’s most advanced commercial helicopter simulator and will be used to provide realistic scenario-based flight and mission training to AW139 helicopter operators in the region as well as Caverton’s own pilots and crews. The simulator will support a large range of training needs, including type rating, recurrent training and proficiency checks for both Visual Flight Rules and Instrument Flight Rules.”
According to Thales, the simulator will be qualified to meet the European Union Aviation Safety Agency Level D standard, the highest level of qualification for a simulator.
It added that the simulator would enable pilots that fly AW139 twin-engine helicopters, one of the most popular helicopter platforms in Nigeria, to be fully immersed in a realistic virtual environment representing the country’s operational areas, and learn to handle a multitude of system failures as well as overcome complex malfunctions should they arise in the real world.
“Pilots can thus train safely in high-risk mission scenarios in a range of weather conditions,” Thales said.
