The first A400M Full Flight Simulator (FFS) designed and built by Thales for Airbus Military received European Aviation Safety Agency’s qualification for training on the 7 June at Airbus Military International Training Centre in Seville.
This qualification is a key enabling milestone that allows Airbus Military to start to train A400M flight crews for their complex missions in a safe environment.
The Full Flight Simulator utilises aircraft hardware and software that represents the initial configuration of the A400M aircraft cockpit and simulates the ground and flight operations of the aircraft in various natural and tactical environments. It includes an enhanced field of view visual system that is capable of supporting training in all aircraft manoeuvres, including air-to-air refuelling and low level tactical operations. A six degrees of freedom motion system, on-board and off-board instructor stations and a record and replay system to aid crew briefing and debriefing is also provided.
As new aircraft data is made available, Thales and Airbus Military teams are also working to obtain Level D certification for this simulator.
Peter Hitchcock, VP Avionics, Thales UK, says: “Thales is the leading provider of training solutions for Military Aircraft with contracts to provide A400M Full Flight Simulators and Flat Panel Trainers to Spain, France, Germany and UK. We are proud to offer our long-standing experience to help train pilots for this exciting and highly capable new aircraft”.
Thales is the main supplier of the A400M’s avionics system, covering cockpit displays systems, Head-up displays, Flight management systems, Integrated Modular avionics, Enhanced Vision System.
Through a joint venture with Airbus Military, Thales has also been selected by the UK MoD for the provision of its through life support training service, which includes the design, construction and management of the A400M training school, the installation and maintenance of full flight simulators and all synthetic training equipment, and support to the RAF’s own course design team and training staff.
The training school will be built at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, with work planned to complete in Spring 2014. The school will train a range of aircrew and ground crew in the operation and maintenance of the RAF’s 22 A400M Atlas aircrafts.
Thales has been a world leader in provision of training services for more than 30 years.
The Atlas A400M is an all new military airlifter designed to meet the needs of the world’s Armed Forces in the 21st Century. Thanks to its most advanced technologies, it is able to fly higher, faster and further, while retaining high manoeuvrability, low speed, and short, soft and rough airfield capabilities. It combines both tactical and strategic/logistic missions, while being also able to be used as a tanker plane. With its cargo hold specifically designed to carry the outsize equipment needed today for both military and humanitarian disaster relief missions, it can bring this material quickly and directly to where it is most needed.
Conceived to be highly reliable, dependable, and with a great survivability, the multipurpose Atlas A400M can do the job of three of today’s different aircraft models in a single one. This means smaller fleets and less investment from the operator. Able to do more with less, the Atlas A400M is the most cost efficient and versatile airlifter ever conceived and absolutely unique in its capabilities.
Thales is a global technology leader for the defence & security and the aerospace & transport markets. In 2011 the company generated revenues of £11.4 bn (€13 bn), with 65,000 employees in 56 countries. With its 22,500 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers as local partners.
Thales UK employs 7,500 staff based at 35 locations. In 2011 Thales UK’s revenues were around £1.4 bn.
