L3 Commercial Training Solutions (CTS) will build an airline training center and production facility for the manufacture of aircraft simulators near Gatwick Airport, south of London. Plans call for the new L3 London Training Center to begin operating in the second quarter of 2018.
The two new operations will be co-located on a five-acre site near Gatwick, with a combined volume of 150,000 sq ft. Parent company L3 Technologies did not disclose the cost of the new facilities.
L3 CTS plans to install eight RealitySeven full-flight simulators in the training facility, including two Airbus A320 and two Boeing 737NG narrowbody devices. Installation of simulators for various widebody aircraft types is “under active consideration,” said the division, which is holding discussions with existing airline customers. “The final fleet of training devices will be determined by customers with whom L3 CTS will partner to meet their demands for ongoing pilot training requirements,” it explained.
In addition to full-flight simulators, plans call for equipping the training center with fixed-based simulators, classrooms, meeting rooms and a restaurant. The production facility will provide manufacturing capacity for 30 simulators per year and will include office space for more than 300 employees.
L3 CTS has existing partnerships and training agreements with airlines including easyJet, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Norwegian. Its full-flight simulator training facility in Crawley, UK, currently supports those carriers. “These commitments will pass seamlessly to the new London Training Center in 2018,” the division said.
The division is partnered with the Surrey County Council on the development and construction of the new training center. “We are very excited to announce this significant milestone for L3 Commercial Training Solutions,” said Michael Strianese, L3 Technologies chairman and CEO. “Our center of excellence will provide increased airline training capacity for our customers around the globe, as well as serve as an economic development catalyst for the London Gatwick area and drive continued sales growth.”
Formed last July, the Crawley-based CTS division includes L3 Link UK, L3 CTC Aviation and more recently, L3 Aerosim-CTC. L3 acquired the former Aerosim in September, including Aerosim Technologies of Burnsville, Minn., and Aerosim Flight Academy of Sanford, Fla.
Rival flight training group CAE already has a facility close to Gatwick Airport with simulators for the A320 and 737NG families, as well as for the Boeing 757/767 and Embraer's E-170.