Story ID: 717Aircare
Aircare, Training For All
By: Ian Goold
Caption: 
Word Count: 574
Aircare Solutions Group’s training courses in crewmember emergency procedures are now available to business-aircraft operators, pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians and flight engineers based in Europe. Announced at last year’s EBACE show, the Aircare Facts Training program is provided through regularly scheduled safety events at a fixed-base training center in Amsterdam, where six such courses are planned for this year.

The initiative comes as many business-aircraft operators are re-evaluating whether to train in-house or to contract a third-party service, according to Aircare Solutions (Stand 468) business development and marketing vice president Martin Hamilton. He said key considerations are quality of training, operators’ investments in time and cost, and the value of learning crew-resource management techniques “away from their comfort zone.” With no such training offered in Europe (outside the commercial airline industry), Hamilton said business aviation operators in the region need to be educated about the specific application of the service, which was “established practice” in the U.S.

Aircare Facts Training, one of several specialist business units in the group, offers classroom instruction combined with practical equipment drills. The courses are claimed to meet FAA Part 135, EU-OPS, CAR 604 and IS-BAO emergency-procedures training standards.

Other Aircare Solutions Group divisions include Aircare Access Assistance (telemedical help and support), Aircare Crews (permanent and temporary employee staffing services) and Majestic Aerotech (an FAA Part 145 equipment repair station).

The new Aircare Amsterdam business-aviation training center near Schiphol Airport provides an indoor cabin simulator equipped for training in emergency procedures for land evacuations, preparation for water ditching, in-flight smoke and fire, on-board medical emergencies, handling of hazardous materials and hypoxia awareness. More than 50 such courses take place annually at Aircare’s three U.S. centers and other business-aviation locations.

Last year, Aircare Facts Training added the first of three planned mobile cabin-fire trainers to its fleet of emergency procedures simulators and water egress “dunkers.” The units permit business-aircraft crewmembers to experience in-flight fire fighting in a representative enclosed environment in which smoke and live fire are introduced from three separate locations: an enclosed lavatory, a galley and a cabin divan seating area. Crewmembers use smoke hoods, protective gear and fire extinguishers to combat fire in these spaces.

A recent Aircare innovation is introduction of the FireSock, which has been designed to help manage risk from fires involving lithium-battery-operated appliances aboard business aircraft. The product comprises a fireproof containment bag in which to transport such equipment.

Flight Attendant Course

Aircare Facts Training also offers a two-day international flight-attendant cabin service-training course at the Amsterdam facility, covering cultural customs and etiquette, customer-focused cabin environments, wine and beverage service, table setting, food preparation and presentation techniques, as well as the understanding of corporate identity and preservation of company integrity.

Aircare Access Assistance offers business-aircraft operators immediate global access to certified emergency-room doctors in the air and also provides other services, such as pre-trip health, safety and security reports, medical kits and products (including defibrillators and diagnostic kits), and basic and advanced medical training. The Aircare Access service also is offered by satellite-communications service provider Satcom Direct as a standalone product.

Aircare Crews provides “hundreds” of pilots and flight attendants to U.S. corporate flight departments, while handling payroll, tax and insurance requirements. Finally, Aircare Solution Group's Majestic Aerotech unit supplies and refurbishes medical kits and aircraft coalescers.