A low-cost helicopter simulator is being developed by US firm Fidelity Flight Simulation, with funding support from helicopter operator Stat Medevac. Fidelity is negotiating to deliver a Eurocopter EC135 full-flight simulator to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based air-medical transport provider early next year.
Fidelity has delivered a number of Motus full-motion flight simulators for fixed-wing aircraft. The simulator combines a six-degree-of-freedom electric motion base with a multi-screen visual system, providing a 140° field-of-view, at a cost competitive with traditional fixed-base general aviation simulators, says vice-president marketing, Mark Limbach.
Earlier this year, the University of Louisiana at Monroe bought three Motus full-flight simulators, for generic piston-single, piston-twin and turboprop-twin aircraft, while the Kansas-based Turbine Training Center ordered a type-specific simulator for Cessna's single-turboprop Caravan. Fidelity's simulators are approved as Level 2 flight training devices.
Its fixed-wing simulators were designed for the ab initio training market, the cockpits combining generic hardware with reconfigurable software, but insurance-mandated training is creating a market for type-specific simulators, says Limbach. The Caravan simulator will be used in a training curriculum approved by the insurance underwriter.
Stat Medevac helped Fidelity take its first steps towards developing a helicopter simulator. "We had been working on [helicopter] aerodynamic modelling for some time," says Limbach.
"They provided initial funding to demonstrate a prototype model that flies like an EC135," he adds.
Source: Flight International
