With pilot and technician demand at an unprecedented high level, legacy training provider FlightSafety International (FSI) is ramping up to meet the challenge. Among many initiatives, the company will launch construction of a new learning center at the Houston Spaceport area of Ellington Airport. This facility will replace its current Houston learning center, which opened in 1976, said FSI president and CEO David Davenport.
“We appreciate the support received from the city of Houston for this facility,” he added, “as we worked to develop and finalize a long-term ground lease agreement for the six-acre area within Phase 1 of the Spaceport.”
The new center will initially house 12 full-flight simulators for a variety of aircraft types. FSI will train pilots, flight attendants, and technicians, the latter including a specified area for Pratt & Whitney Canada engines. In a move Davenport said demonstrates a commitment to providing turnkey services for operators of FAR Part 25 aircraft, FSI has also entered into an agreement with an unnamed “large commercial aircraft operator” to have exclusive use of an area with flight simulators, classrooms, and offices.
Meanwhile, FSI is expanding its Gulfstream G280 training program, introducing a fourth simulator at its Wilmington, Delaware learning center. The sim will have Pro Line Fusion PlaneView avionics, a dual flight management system with LPV and RNP capability, an integrated FMS, and a head-up guidance system with enhanced vision enabling training for EFVS approaches to touchdown and rollout. The simulator will include a CrewView collimated glass mirror display and Vital 1150 visual system. FSI has been Gulfstream’s official factory-authorized training organization for more than four decades,
At its Teterboro, New Jersey learning center, FSI will launch a new Dassault Falcon 2000LXS/900LX interchangeable simulator next week, following pending FAA level-D qualification. In addition to its Vital visual system and CrewView collimated glass mirror display, the new sim has Dassault’s FalconEye combined vision system head-up display (HUD).
The Dassault-designed system combines synthetic, database-driven terrain mapping, and thermal and low-light camera images in a single view for increased situational awareness in low-visibility conditions. The FSI training regime in the sim qualifies crews for lower approach minimums, down to as low as 100 feet. Besides Teterboro, Falcon training is available at FSI learning centers in Columbus, Ohio; Dallas and Houston, Texas; Wilmington, Delaware; and Paris Le Bourget Airport.
In other FlightSafety news, the company has launched an advanced version of its Rejected Takeoff Go/No-go recurrent course for Falcon 2000EX EASy pilots. The course will be available at FSI’s Dallas and Teterboro Learning Centers. “Beyond initial concept and skill development, we took the training to the next level," said FSI senior v-p of operations Dann Runik. “The crews will face different scenarios involving different airports, weights, weather, and runway conditions. This course is the logical follow-on training to the original course to keep perishable skills at the highest readiness level.”
Finally, FSI is recognizing the first graduates of its new Cabin Systems Master Technician program. “We are pleased to congratulate John Rowell, director of maintenance for Valero Services, and Tommy Tippett of Gulfstream Aerospace on their significant achievement,” Runik said.