The new Thales Helicopter Training Centre receives EASA qualification and starts operations

On the occasion of the Farnborough Air Show, Thales announces that the Thales Training Academy has received its final EASA FSTD1 Operator qualification by the French Aviation Safety Agency (DGAC), and is now operational to deliver training for civil helicopter operators.

The academy is the first European training centre to operate the AS350 Full Flight Simulator.

Key points

• The Thales Training Academy is the first centre in Europe to provide full flight training and simulation for the AS350 helicopter.
• The centre aims to improve flight safety and optimise operators’ costs.
• The centre has been awarded the final qualification in order to begin operations.

Located at the heart of the French Alps, in Albertville, the academy features a state-of-the-art, high-fidelity Reality H simulator, designed to increase flight safety and mission proficiency at an affordable cost.

Reality H is the most advanced full flight simulator on the market and holds a dual qualification from the EASA2. It is highly flexible and offers the best training capabilities for mission readiness. Using the latest technology to accurately reproduce mountainous terrains, extreme environmental conditions and emergency situations in urban areas.

The academy offers a variety of tailored, synthetic training solutions, including type rating (initial, recurrent), night flight, emergency procedures and on-demand mission training packages for specific mission practice, such as emergency medical services and aerial work. Moreover the academy aims to optimise mission performance by training pilots on how to face emergency situations such as autorotation, entry into vortex and harsh weather conditions, all of which are critical situations in a real helicopter.

Designed with and for the helicopters operators, the training solutions available at the Thales Training Academy in Albertville aim to improve flight safety while optimising training costs for all the operators. The academy has a focus on Europe and surrounding regions.

“This training centre further expands Thales’s continuous commitment to helicopter crew safety and mission efficiency, and demonstrates our commitment to develop affordable services to best meet the needs of all helicopter operators. With this qualification we can begin to address the strong need for training on the AS350, a widely used rotorcraft.”
Jean-Jacques Guittard, Thales VP in charge of training and simulation activities