Textron’s TRU Simulation + Training will provide avionics bench training systems for the Bell 407GX and Bell 412EPI at Bell Helicopter’s Training Academy. These two training systems will be delivered to Bell, which is also a Textron subsidiary, in the summer of next year.
The maintenance training devices will provide students with hands-on training for the helicopters’ complex avionics systems. Training will extend beyond general theory and allow greater knowledge retention without additional hours on operational aircraft, TRU said.
For the Bell 407GX, the avionics training system will ensure technicians understand how a Garmin G1000H system operates and what messages the equipment provides, as well as allow students to practice maintenance techniques with line replaceable units. The Bell 412EPI avionics training system will provide technicians experience with Rogerson Kratos system avionics operation and maintenance practices.
“This order represents the first of what we expect to be many maintenance training devices TRU will build for Bell Helicopter and potentially their worldwide customer base,” stated John Hayward, senior vice president and general manager of TRU’s military and business simulation division.
Bell Helicopter’s Training Academy has trained more than 140,000 Bell customers from every market segment in more than 135 countries.