FlightSafety International (FSI, Booth B1417) continues to expand the number of courses—now 259 at 12 learning centers in the U.S.—that are approved for education benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Expected to soon be VA-approved in the next few months is training for the Airbus Helicopters AS350B3, EC130T2, and EC135, as well as the Bell 407GXP, at FSI’s Denver learning center.
The approved courses are available to veterans who want to pursue a career as a professional pilot or for initial or recurrent training for experienced pilots under many VA programs. National Guard members, reservists, and active duty military might also qualify for substantial assistance for FlightSafety training. Military personnel interested in such training should apply to the VA for a Certificate of Eligibility to find out what programs are available to them.
In other news at FSI, the company's Denver location now offers FAA-approved Part 142 initial, recurrent, and prior-experience courses and night-vision courses for the Airbus EC130T2. Additional new programs there include the AS350T2 initial and AS350B2 differences training to the AS350B2 and AS350B3e/H125.
In the works at FlightSafety is an Advanced Energy Management—Rotorcraft Course, an addition to its Master Aviator program for helicopter pilots. “Master Aviator sets the standard for pilot achievement and recognition, enabling pilots to develop a deeper knowledge of the helicopter they fly, as well as a safe and correct response to a broad range of demanding, unexpected situations,” said Steve Gross, senior v-p of FSI's commercial division.
Pilots can obtain the FSI Master Aviator distinction by completing all advance aircraft-specific core courses and a choice of four electives. At least one FSI initial or recurrent training event must be completed every eight months. One-day core courses now include advanced energy management—rotorcraft, advanced helicopter crew resource management, and advanced helicopter surviving inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions.
Separately, FSI and Metro Aviation are celebrating five years of delivering training for single- and multi-engine helicopters in Shreveport, Louisiana. Mike Stanberry, president and CEO of Metro Aviation, was instrumental in the development of the first EC135 level-D flight simulator to be installed in North America for commercial operations.
“This has been an exceptional and unusual partnership," Stanberry said. "This is the first time FlightSafety has partnered with an operator on this type of venture and I have always appreciated the fact that they joined forces with us to bring full-motion level-D simulators to our industry that did not previously exist.”