Wed, Jan 30, 2008
Simulator-Based Training Approved Under Part 142
Eclipse Aviation announced Tuesday the FAA has awarded the
planemaker's training provider, Higher Power Aviation (HPA),
authorization to conduct Eclipse 500 Type Training under HPA's Part
142 Training Certificate. During the Part 142 certification
process, the FAA examined Eclipse's training curriculum and
analyzed how Eclipse will use its simulator to train and type-rate
customer pilots prior to an aircraft delivery.
The authorization should increase Eclipse's training capacity
dramatically... as it enables the company to type-rate customers in
a Level D full-motion simulator before they take delivery of their
planes, instead of waiting to use the customer's completed
aircraft.
The milestone marks the FAA's final approval of Eclipse's
training program, and comes just shy of 11 months after Eclipse
announced the termination of its original training
contract with United Airlines. The certification also
comes two weeks after the FAA certified Eclipse's first flight
simulator as a Level D Full Motion device, as ANN reported.
"Using a simulator for a customer's entire type rating means we
no longer have to schedule training around aircraft availability or
weather conditions," said Eclipse president and CEO Vern Raburn.
"We also will bring two additional Level D simulators online very
soon and all will be operated about 20 hours per day, seven days a
week. This additional simulator capacity will enable us to move
customers through our type rating program faster, and also allow
the start of recurrent flight training for our customers who have
been operating their Eclipse 500s for a year."
Eclipse says the first class of customer pilots began their
flight training in the Level D simulator this week, with subsequent
classes beginning every two weeks. By April 2008, Eclipse Aviation
expects to have three Level D Full Motion simulators in operation,
which the company hopes will allow the training and type-rating of
60 customers per month.
The certification was accomplished through a successful
partnership between Eclipse Aviation and its joint venture training
providers: HPA of Dallas, TX; Opinicus of Lutz, FL; and Flight
Simulation Company (FSC) of Amsterdam, The
Netherlands.
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