APS Launches Sim-based Jet Upset Recovery Training

Mesa, Ariz.-based APS Emergency Maneuver Training recently started offering jet upset recovery training in full-motion simulators to mitigate in-flight loss-of-control situations, which a report from Boeing says is the prevailing factor in fatal commercial aviation accidents over the past 10 years. Based on 13 years of course development and more than 12,000 flight hours of in-airplane upset recovery instruction, APS created the sim-based flight training services to hone professional pilots’ upset recovery skills, without the risks involved in actual aerobatic flight. The two-day, three-mission simulator course–conducted in a level-D Embraer ERJ 145, level-C Beechcraft King Air 200 or level-C Cessna Citation device–are modeled around the recommended training procedures and training exercises specified in the “FAA Airplane Upset Recovery Training Aid.” Despite the limitations of simulators, “a tremendous amount of valuable training can take place in advanced full-flight simulators to instill procedural all-attitude recovery ability in pilots of any technologically advanced fixed-wing commercial aircraft,” noted APS Emergency Maneuver Training president Paul “BJ” Ransbury. The course costs $3,475 to $4,100 per pilot, depending on the simulator chosen. APS said it will also continue to offer upset recovery training courses in real aircraft.