When Thomson-CSF acquired the Rediffusion simulation business from Hughes Aircraft in 1993, the company became, at a stroke, the largest simulator manufacturer in Europe, and the world leader outside North America.
Today, Thomson Training and Simulation (TTS) is competing fiercely in every market for simulators, and in 1996 saw its position confirmed when it won 11 out of 15 competitions for full-flight civil simulators, placing it in front of its main competitor in the field, Canada's CAE. Despite its success in the civil area, TTS still does 57% of its business in military simulation. Total sales for 1996 stood at Fr1.39 billion ($24 million), with orders worth Fr2.06 billion.
Although up to 70% of its market is in Europe, TTS has received orders for the first Boeing 777 simulators from US carrier United Airlines, Japan's All Nippon Airways and Thai Airways International, and for Boeing 737-700/800 simulators from Southwest Airlines and Lufthansa Flight Training.
"It is absolutely essential to be international if we are to compete effectively in the global marketplace," says TTS sales director Michel Orman. He adds that the company is "cautiously confident" about the continued recovery in the civil-simulation market, predicting sales of up to 15 full-flight machines in 1997 - around the same number as for 1996. He points out, however, that some "very big deals" are expected soon, not least from US operators American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways, as well as South Korea;s Asiana and Saudi Arabian Airlines. "These could change the picture completely," he says.
TTS is now building two simulators for Airbus Industrie aircraft - an A320 and an A340 - for the new Airbus training centre in Beijing, and will deliver a further A320 machine to United Airlines at the end of the year. Separately, the company is producing an A330 simulator for Thai Airways International, an A300-600 for China Eastern Airlines and an A340 for its own Orbit Flight Training centre in the UK. It is also working with French electronics giant Sextant Avionique to produce a trainer for the Bombardier Dash 8-400 regional aircraft.
Development of the Orbit centre, which is being moved to a new site at London's Heathrow Airport, continues, and this will become the first such independent centre in the world to offer full training for Boeing 777 pilots.
Heading out east
TTS is also in partnership with Thai Airways to build an AI(R) ATR training centre in Bangkok, with a planned opening in May, providing training for all versions of ATRs. The aim, says TTS civil-aviation managing director Edouard Arrubarrena, is to develop partnerships with airlines to operate training centres rather than linking too closely with Airbus or Boeing.
In the military sphere, TTS was chosen in 1996 by British Aerospace to supply six simulators for the future Royal Air Force Nimrod 2000 maritime-patrol aircraft, a contract worth around Fr500 million over the next eight years.
Penetration of the US market was also achieved with two contracts for modernisation of visual systems and avionics for up to 25 simulators for the US Air Force's Boeing KC-135 and KC-10 in-flight-refuelling aircraft. The contract, which was awarded by Evans &Sutherland, covers the provision of TTS "WIDE" display systems with their 225í horizontal x 45 degrees vertical field-of-view, coupled with background projection from its powerful ESIG 4530 image generators.
TTS claims a 60% world market penetration for the WIDE system since it was launched in 1980. The latest developent in image-generation centres on the Space Magic system, which follows the Space Classic and is designed to transform a graphics workstation into a real-time image generator.
The host computer can interact with Space Magic through standard interfaces or be hosted by the workstation itself, using shared memory to communicate. It is compatible with the complete Silicon Graphics workstation range, and can provide up to 8,000 triangular polygons at a 30Hz refresh rate and full texturing, as well as being able to support stereo helmet displays.
Another visual system development, due to be launched at the end of the year, is a new projector, called Liquid Crystal Light Valve, aimed at increasing brightness in military simulators using dome projections, and particularly for helicopters, where, according to TTS, "-there has traditionally been a requirement for precision optics that has, until now, been difficult to meet".
In co-operation with the French Army, TTS has also launched its Heli-Trainer, a low-cost fixed-base machine coupled with the Space Magic visual system to provide training in VFR, IFR and for civil and military pilots.
To reduce lead times, TTS has taken the unusual step of pre-building two full-flight simulators, one a Boeing, the other and Airbus Industrie machine, "-in anticipation of a number of contracts which are due to be awarded in the near future".
Source: Flight International
