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The foundation stone laying ceremony for a new helicopter
training centre was held in Bangalore on Monday. The facility --
Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) – is
an equally-owned joint venture between HAL and CAE. The centre will
be operational by mid-2010.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sanjeev Sahi, Director (HR), HAL, said
that this facility would be first of its kind once operational.
“HATSOFF will offer Level-D simulator training to helicopter pilots
and maintainers. By partnering with CAE, we are making sure the
simulation technology is at the leading edge in order to play a key
role in training and producing skilled and mission-ready helicopter
crews. HAL is committed to enhancing the safety of helicopter
operators in India and to provide a complete service offering for
our military and civil clients of the Dhruv helicopter,” Mr Sahi
said.
Mr Martin Gagné, Chairman of the HATSOFF Board of Directors and
CAE’s Group President, Military Simulation Products, Training and
Services, said HATSOFF will serve a critical need for enhancing
safety and mission readiness. "We are proud to partner with HAL to
create a training centre of excellence offering high-quality
simulation-based helicopter training programs to pilots and
technicians of India and the surrounding region. The centre is an
illustration of our commitment to provide high-quality, customized
training in locations most convenient to our customers,” Mr Martin
added.
About HATSOFF: The centre will be equipped with a CAE-built
full-mission simulator featuring CAE's revolutionary
roll-on/roll-off cockpit design, which enables cockpits representing
various helicopter types to be used in the simulator. When fully
operational, HATSOFF will be able to train up to 400 helicopter
pilots each year. Initially, HATSOFF will offer comprehensive
training to civil and military customers operating four helicopter
types: the Indian Army/Air Force variant of the HAL-built Dhruv, the
civil variant of the Dhruv, the Bell 412 and the Eurocopter Dauphin.
The training centre will feature multimedia classrooms,
computer-based training, brief/debrief facilities, and a training
management information system. The CAE-built full-mission simulator
for HATSOFF will feature a common motion system, vibration platform,
and visual display system, and four separate cockpit modules that
can be used in the full-mission simulator. When a cockpit is not
used in the full-mission simulator, it will be used as a fixed-based
flight training device (FTD). The simulator will be certified to
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Indian DGCA Level D, the
highest qualification for flight simulators. |
