UK airline Airtours and Belgian carrier Sabena have ordered their first Airbus A320 full-flight simulators. The machines are being supplied by Thomson Training & Simulation (TTS), with visual systems provided by Evans & Sutherland.
Airtours' Level D machine will enter service in April 1999 at a new training centre to be built at the airline's Manchester base. The centre will cater for pilots flying Airtours' 25 A320s, and will also be used by the company's overseas subsidiaries Premair, based in Denmark, and Air Belgium. Sabena's simulator, also a Level D machine, will be installed at Brussels Zaventem Airport.
TTS has secured a series of orders recently, including British Midland's acquisition of an A320 flight management system trainer for delivery in April, following the carrier's order last December for a full-flight machine.
United Airlines, meanwhile, has ordered its fourthA320 and fourth Boeing 777 simulators from TTS. United's second A320 machine has just entered service at the airline's Denver training centre following receipt of Level D approval late last year. United now has five TTS full-flight simulators operational, and recently placed a pair of flight management system trainers into service, for the Boeing 757 and 777. TTS is also producing a second A320 flight management and aircraft systems trainer for the airline.
TTS has also recently upgraded a French air force Dassault Mirage F.ICR reconnaissance aircraft mission simulator with its Space Magic visual system. The company claims a world first in providing scene visibility ranging from 30km (16nm) in mountainous regions to 50km in standard terrain. The visual system is also correlated with the radar image and moving map display.
Source: Flight International
