Company's Texas Training Center Will Take Center Stage

American Eurocopter plans to highlight its custom training solutions during the Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA) Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 20 to 23. The company's training center in Grand Prairie, Texas, provides a new era of training for helicopter pilots and crews, and it continues to lead the industry with innovative training solutions that can be modified to meet the needs of its customers who operate a variety of helicopters and perform a wide array of missions.

AS350 Simulator

American Eurocopter’s Training Center offers the opportunity to fly multiple models of aircraft and require unique combinations of training in helicopters and simulators, in addition to specialized combinations of NVG and night training requirements. Agencies such as the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office are just a few examples of agencies and organizations attending factory training at American Eurocopter.

The Texas Department of Public Safety Aircraft Section conducts a wide variety of training for their pilots in the AS350B2, AS350B3 and the EC145. New pilots to the Aircraft Section attend initial pilot training in their assigned models at American Eurocopter, and they also attend annual recurrent training. Recurrent training in the AS350-series aircraft is a custom blend of flight time in training aircraft and American Eurocopter’s AS350 Flight & Mission Training Simulator. Texas DPS instructor pilots recently received training to operate the AS350 Simulator themselves, which allows them to conduct agency-specific training for their pilots. In addition to the simulator training, all pilots conduct full-touchdown autorotations in AS350 training aircraft. One of Texas DPS’s AS350 B3 helicopters will be displayed on American Eurocopter’s booth during the show.

The Seminole County (FL) Sheriff’s Office also regularly attends recurrent training in the EC120 and AS350B3 at American Eurocopter. Pilots conduct their EC120 recurrent training in American Eurocopter aircraft, where customized combinations of day and night training are conducted by American Eurocopter instructor pilots. Chief Pilot Steve Farris also received training in the operation of the AS350 Simulator, and he will be conducting training sessions for his pilots in the near future. “Using the AS350 Simulator for our pilot training allows us to train for specific failures that cannot safely be conducted in training aircraft, such as governor failures and engine failures that occur during mission simulations,” says Farris. “American Eurocopter’s willingness to allow the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office to customize our training is a big benefit to our pilots and our agency.”

FMI: www.eurocopterusa.com