UK-based Helicopter Services has received UK Civil Aviation Authority approval for its Aerosimulators-supplied low-cost flight training device for the Bell 206, marking the third European certification of the system.
Belgian manufacturer Aerosimulators says its AS-BH206 is the first low-cost helicopter training device to meet European FNPT 2 flight navigation and procedures trainer standards. Leon Smith, the president of Helicopter Services, says the company has "already landed a long-term contract to train helicopter pilots in instrument flying".
The trailer-mounted AS-BH206 is based on the Bell 206B3 turbine single and is equipped with a fully representative cockpit and flight controls and wide field-of-view visual system. "By focusing on only one basic model, we are able to keep development costs to a minimum. This ensures that operators don't have to have a large helicopter to have a simulator," says Aerosimulators chief executive Piet de Backer. "We have taken a different approach - harnessing technology that is good enough to provide 80% of the training benefit at 10% of the cost." The company has set up Aerosimulators USA and expects to receive US Federal Aviation Administration approval this month.
Meanwhile, Dulles, Virginia-based Merlin Simulations has received US Level 3 certification for its $99,000 Robinson R22 helicopter flight training device, which has a 220°-wide visual system and reconfigurable VFR/IFR instrument panel.
■ Max-Viz has received supplemental type certification for its EVS-1000 enhanced vision system on Bell 206/407 helicopters. Missouri-based Air-Evac Lifeteam has ordered 10 systems, with options for 30 more, to equip its emergency medical service helicopters.
Source: Flight International
