Atlantic Airways inaugurates new flight training center in the Faroe Islands

Today, thales and Atlantic Airways celebrated the inauguration of a new flight training center in the Faroe Islands. This new center features Thales' AW139 EASA-approved Reality H Full Flight Simulator (FFS) Level D for the highest level of training and certification. The simulator also includes a correlated hoist trainer that uses new Mixed Reality (MR) technology.

With scenario-based flight and mission training, the systems will enable AW139 helicopter pilots and operators worldwide to train for complex offshore and onshore missions in adverse weather conditions, such as those encountered on the Faroe Islands. The FFS was jointly developed and designed by the training experts of helicopter operator and airline Atlantic Airways, and Thales.

Designed to train rescuers as hoist operators, the hoist trainer module includes a physical cable hoist with a hoist control grip, allowing for a simulated payload to be raised or lowered. Intended to train hoist operators working at the helicopter's rear, this hoist model can vary in speed. At the same time, the Mixed Reality technology generated by the ThalesView Image Generation system provides visual cues, enabling the winchman to lean outside freely. The winchman's view is synchronized with the FFS's movement, ensuring a consistent and seamless training experience that improves coordination between pilots and hoist operators.

The Atlantic Airways Aviation Academy will deliver training with this simulator, including initial type rating, recurrent training, and proficiency checks for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). This simulator will enable pilots to achieve the certification needed to fly the AW139 under EASA approval. Depending on the course and/or training syllabus, the Atlantic Airways Aviation Academy can train up to 600 pilots annually.

(article source: Thales / editor: Anton van Rijsbergen)
(image source: © Krutl / Jonas G. Rossum, via Thales)