Leonardo has opened a new facility at Stavanger Sola Airport in Norway to train aircrew members for the AW101 medium-lift helicopter.
The AW101 Norway Training Centre will provide advanced training courses to search-and-rescue aircrew in the country.
Norway Minister of Justice and Public Security Per-Willy Amundsen said: “This facility will not only help reduce the cost of training but, most importantly, will enhance safety and enable aircrew to exploit the new capabilities the AW101 helicopter and its systems will provide in service.”
The facility houses a new AW101 Full Flight Simulator and other advanced training devices for both pilot and rear crew training.
Leonardo and CAE have co-developed the AW101 simulator, which is operated and managed by Leonardo Helicopters to deliver its wide range of OEM training courses.
The simulator can also help train pilots in offshore transport, combat SAR, and naval operations.
Using the simulator, pilots will be able to practice challenging procedures without risk such as low-level flight, confined area operations, autorotations, and landing on platforms at sea, Leonardo stated.
The AW101 simulator incorporates avionics and aircraft software modelling, with CAE True six degree-of-freedom (DOF) electric motion system and high-performance vibration platform to replicate vibration cues critical to helicopter pilots. It includes a high-fidelity CAE Medallion-6000 visual system and a direct projection 210-degree by 80-degree extreme field-of-view dome display system, according to the statement.
It also features SAR autopilot modes, a digital map, radar, aircraft mission management computer, multipurpose control and display units, cockpit display system, and a flotation system.
The training centre also has a Royal Norwegian Air Force-owned AW101 SAR console training device that is linked to the simulator to provide rear crew training.
