Just How Will They Train All Those Eclipse Pilots, Anyway?

Despite all the growing pains associated with getting the Eclipse program up to speed, one thing continues unabated... Eclipse Pilot training. A visit to the factory flight training facility a few weeks back showed ANN that this was one part of the program that seems ready and able to keep up with the demand, and that Director of Customer Training, Randy Brooks, seems more than optimistic about their efforts.

Just last January, Eclipse told us that the FAA had awarded Eclipse's training provider, Higher Power Aviation (HPA), authorization to conduct Eclipse 500 Type Training under HPA's Part 142 Training Certificate. The authorization increases Eclipse's training capacity and enables the company to type rate customers entirely in its certified Level D Full Motion simulators.

During the Part 142 certification process, the FAA examined Eclipse's training curriculum and analyzed how Eclipse uses its advanced simulator to train and type rate customer pilots prior to an aircraft delivery. The certification came just two weeks after the FAA certified Eclipse's first flight simulator as a Level D Full Motion device.

The first class of customer pilots began their flight training in the Level D simulator within days, with subsequent classes beginning every two weeks. Eclipse now has three Level D Full Motion simulators in operation, which allows the company to train and type rate 60 customers per month. The certification was accomplished through partnerships between Eclipse Aviation and HPA of Dallas, TX; OPINICUS of Lutz, FL; and Flight Simulation Company (FSC) of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Eclipse built a state-of-the-art Flight Training Facility at Double Eagle II Airport on Albuquerque's west side just over a year ago. Eclipse flight skills assessment eval programs and HPA's Part 142 type rating training are conducted in the simulators.

Aero-TV Gets Some High-Tech Sim Time In The E-500 Full-Motion Sim!

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