FSC, Higher Power Aviation To Handle Flight Training

Less than two months after Eclipse Aviation announced the termination of its original training partnership with United Airlines, the very-light-jet manufacturer says it has finalized its team of partners who will train Eclipse 500 pilots.

The company tells ANN it has entered new partnerships with Flight Simulation Company (FSC) of The Netherlands, and Higher Power Aviation, Inc. of Dallas-Fort Worth, TX. These organizations will join simulator manufacturer OPINICUS Corporation of Lutz, FL in working with Eclipse to deliver the training curriculum that was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this year.

FSC, recognized for its pilot training and simulator center management expertise in Europe, will provide Eclipse’s FAA-approved course content and oversee Eclipse Aviation’s overall Eclipse 500 pilot training program. While FSC will begin training Eclipse pilots with a focus on North America and Western Europe, the company's agreement with Eclipse supports the potential expansion of Eclipse training to other geographic regions.

Under its FAR Part 142 certificate, HPA's flight instructors and training personnel will conduct FAA approved flight training and administer the Eclipse 500 type rating curriculum in the United States. HPA  -- which provides jet crew training for the Boeing 737 Legacy, Classic, and New Generation (B737NG), plus the Boeing 727, 757, 767, DC-9 and MD-80 -- is an approved FAA Part 142 training center for airlines, corporate flight departments, government and military agencies, and individuals.

"We take our responsibility to train our customer pilots very seriously," said Eclipse president and CEO Vern Raburn. "We have assembled an outstanding team of experienced instructors and administrators to deliver our FAA-approved, scenario-based training curriculum to our customers. We look forward to joining forces with these respected organizations to create an entirely new generation of safe and highly-proficient jet pilots."

The Eclipse 500 training program is comprised of a multi-phase curriculum, codeveloped with United Airlines, including an initial flight skills assessment and supplemental training if required, self-paced computer-based study, emergency situation training, a type rating transition course, post-certification mentoring as well as recurrent training. The training curriculum was developed using Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) and Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) principles, which are considered airline standards.

In addition, Eclipse 500 training is accepted by the FAA/Industry Training Standards (FITS), which emphasizes scenario-based training that focuses on real-life situations.

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