This Sim Trains Pilots for Animal Runway Collisions

Mission Aviation Fellowship International (MAF) signed with European Flight Simulation System Builders Euramec to build a Scalable Mission Training solution for the Cessna Caravan.

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is a humanitarian air operator that collectively operates a fleet of 117 airplanes serving some 1,500 aid, development and mission organisations to bring medical care, emergency relief and long-term development to isolated communities across the globe.

The simulator, to be based in the Netherlands, will contribute to MAF’s aim of cutting carbon emissions, in proportion to its flying, by 30% by 2035.

Bert Buyle, CEO EURAMEC, said: "Euramec worked out a unique concept that caters exactly to the training needs for MAF pilots. The main flight training device (FTD) comes with a high-fidelity visual system with extended vertical views to allow for maximum immersion in the uniquely tough terrain MAF pilots operate in.”

These remote areas are not readily available in legacy databases; Euramec will deliver tailor-made scenery with exact renderings of the airstrips and airfields MAF operates in.

The Euramec C208B FTD will initially be certified at EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) FTD2 level, and the device will receive a 6 degrees-of-freedom motion system to enhance the flying characteristics.

Euramec will also provide a virtual reality (VR) part-task trainer. This system will be an additional Part-Task Trainer. Special features will include eye tracking and other tools bringing advanced technology to a traditional field as flight training.

Euramec partners with Multisim from the Netherlands for the VR training solution and Multisim's D-Sim and D-World software suite as an interface between the various simulator components.

The MAF International C208B Caravan Flight Training Device is expected to be up and running at Teuge International Airport by the end of 2025. A second C208B Simulator platform is planned to be installed in Australia.

“The visuals of this sim will be next generation,” said Rene Don, Flight Simulator Project Lead at MAF International. “It’s where the industry is going.

“The ground modelling is better than typical airline industry sims. MAF flies to the remotest corners of the earth and it’s important we can train our pilots for these environments.

“Our highest safety risk is runway collisions with animals, vehicles etcetera. The simulator will contain special animations to train for these scenarios.”