India's advanced helicopter simulator, an HAL and CAE joint venture, Friday received the highest certification from both the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The Bangalore-based Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF)'s Bell-412 chopper full-mission simulator was certified to Level D, the highest qualification
for flight simulators, by both DGCA and EASA, an HAL press release said here.
"HAL and CAE are very proud of achieving Level D certification, which is the highest performance rating given for flight training equipment, from both the DGCA and EASA," HATSOFF Chief Executive Officer Wing Commander (retd) Chandra Datt Upadhyay said.
"The HATSOFF training centre is a first for India, and we are excited to begin offering simulation-based training that will prove to be one of the best approaches for improving
safety, operational efficiency and mission readiness," he added.
The CAE-built full-mission helicopter simulator at HATSOFF features CAE's revolutionary roll-on/roll-off cockpit design, which enables cockpits representing various helicopter types to be used in the simulator.
The first training programme HATSOFF is offering is for operators of the Bell-412 helicopter. Additional cockpits for the Indian Army and Air Force variant of the HAL-built Dhruv,
the civil variant of the Dhruv, and the Eurocopter Dauphin would be added to the HATSOFF training centre over the next year.
The HATSOFF training centre, located near HAL's headquarters in Bangalore, also features multimedia classrooms, computer-based training, brief and debrief facilities, and a training management information system.
The full-mission simulator features a common motion system, vibration platform, and visual display system, along with the 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).