The trio of Hibernia Management and Development Co. (HMDC), Research & Development Corp. (RDC) and CAE inaugurated a new helicopter training and research and development center in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, yesterday. Fully funded by HMDC and RDC and operated by CAE, the facility features the first civilian level-D helicopter simulator with night vision in Canada and hosts five research projects.
HMDC helicopter service provider Cougar Helicopters has started training its pilots at the center. “CAE is proud to offer flight and mission training to offshore and search-and-rescue crews in the province. We also look forward to the research and development projects aimed at making helicopter training more efficient and safe,” said Nick Leontidis, CAE group president for civil aviation training solutions. “We will develop local R&D expertise to support the needs of the Newfoundland and Labrador oil and gas industry.”
R&D will focus on human factors research in areas such as aircrew health monitoring and helmet fatigue.