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.  

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, www.jetcrew.com, www.opinicus.com