Julian Moxon/PARIS
THOMSON TRAINING & Simulation (TTS) has re-entered the low-cost helicopter-trainer market with a fixed-base device primarily aimed at military customers.
The device is dedicated to visual flight-rules/instrument flight-rules ab initio training. TTS France military programmes director Emanuel d'Ayguesveves says that it will meet what he describes as a "strong demand for low-cost devices from military forces worldwide". It is TTS' first entry into the market since it supplied 24 Aerospatiale Gazelle trainers to the French air force several years ago.
A three-projector visual system will provide images projected directly on to a curved screen, using TTS' Space Magic image-generation system. A detailed database is available for low-level tactical training, with real-time texture generation covering a range of different terrains.
The machine is entirely personal computer (PC)-based, using off-the-shelf hardware with TTS-developed software. The instructor operator station is also PC-based, with one device for varying simulator characteristics, and another for monitoring and generating training functions.
D'Ayguesveves says that the trainer will be price-competitive with those offered on the civil market by US low-cost helicopter trainer company Frasca, "depending on the fidelity of the visual scene". The first to be offered will be a Eurocopter Ecureuil trainer, which will be based at TTS' Cergy Pontoise site near Paris.
Source: Flight International
