Lockheed Martin has surprised the airline training industry by announcing the creation of a commercial flight simulator centre. The Orlando, Florida-based facility will open in the second quarter of this year.
The company says the move reflects its need to diversify while remaining close to its core business. A training capability may help Lockheed Martin win future military contracts that call for commercially operated training systems.
The Orlando centre will provide training for single-aisle airliners, including regional aircraft. It will open with two pre-owned Level C simulators, for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-300. Four new Level D simulators will be delivered within the next 20 months. Customers are expected to be smaller operators from North and South America, which have trouble buying time from major airlines and other simulator operators.
Leading simulator maker CAE Electronics of Canada has announced plans, meanwhile, to build and operate a training centre near Sao Paulo, Brazil. It will house four simulators initially, with space for 12, and will open early next year. CAE had shied from entering the training services business, and the move is thought to be linked to a deal with Brazil's Varig.
CAE and Lockheed Martin wish to expand their training centre businesses globally. GE Capital is also in expansion mode, having agreed the transfer of Thomson-CSF's Orbit centre in the UK to its own training division.
Source: Flight International
