Only a week after the FAA and EASA issued type certificate approvals for the Pilatus PC-24, FlightSafety has received FAA interim approval for its FS1000 Level C simulator for the new “super versatile jet.” Andre Zimmerman, VP for the PC-24 program at Pilatus, said, “We are excited to see the training device getting ready on time for the first customer training. Both teams at FlightSafety and Pilatus have worked hard to achieve this important milestone. Our partnership with FlightSafety will provide state of the art – Crystal Class – training to our customers.”
PlaneSense, the New Hampshire based fractional operator, will be the launch customer for the first PC-24, and likely first to send pilots through the new type rating course at FlightSafety’s Dallas facility in early 2018. A Level C Full Flight Simulator is considered close enough to the actual aircraft to be used for all required tasks for the ATP certificate or aircraft type rating. Level D adds more realistic vibration, sound effects and aerodynamic modelling.
FlightSafety has prepared a parallel suite of lower-level simulation products so pilots don’t need to spend all their instructional time in the costly full flight simulator. “The pilot and maintenance technician training programs will also utilize MATRIX, FlightSafety’s Integrated Training System. It offers Graphical Flight Deck Simulators for instructor-led and self-paced learning, Desk Top simulators used in classroom instruction, and the SimVu simulator flight de-briefing system,” said the company in a press release.
