Helicopter Training Takes Off in the Faroes

Thales and Atlantic Airways are celebrating the inauguration of a new flight training centre in the Faroe Islands. This new centre features Thales’s AW139 EASA-approved Reality H Full Flight Simulator Level D. The simulator also includes a correlated hoist trainer that uses new Mixed Reality (MR) technology, supporting safer helicopter operations worldwide.

The FFS, combined with latest MR technology for air crew hoisting, is a full-motion simulator integrating Thales’s patented Hexaline Technology, that provides a realistic and immersive helicopter training experience. With scenario-based flight and mission training, the systems will enable AW139 helicopter pilots and operators to train for complex offshore and onshore missions in adverse weather conditions, such as those encountered on the Faroe Islands. Pilots and aircrew operators can thus train safely in high-risk mission scenarios.

Designed to train rescuers in their role as hoist operators, the hoist trainer module includes a physical cable hoist with a hoist control grip, allowing for a simulated payload to be raised or lowered. Intended to train hoist operators working at the rear of the helicopter, this versatile hoist model can vary in speed, while the Mixed Reality technology generated by the ThalesView Image Generation system provides visual cues, enabling the winchman to lean outside freely. The winchman's view is synchronized with the FFS’s movement, ensuring a consistent and seamless training experience that improves coordination between pilots and hoist operators.

The Atlantic Airways Aviation Academy will deliver advanced training with this simulator, including initial type rating, recurrent training and proficiency checks for both Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). This simulator will enable pilots to achieve the certification needed to fly the AW139 under EASA approval.