Great things happen when two highly professional, safety-dedicated companies decide to join forces to create a high-tech project: a brand new H145 full-flight simulator (FFS).
ADAC HEMS Academy, an internationally-known provider of state-of-the-art training for helicopter pilots on Airbus EC135/H135 and EC145/H145 simulators, found that partner in Reiser Simulation and Training.
“With Reiser, a family-run company with a singular focus on providing leading-edge technology for training, we found a perfect match for building the new H145 FFS,” said Thomas Huetsch, chief executive officer of ADAC HEMS Academy.
“We come from the operation and we have extended mission experience,” said Huetsch. “This makes us different from the normal simulator provider.”
As one of the major helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operators in Europe, ADAC Air Rescue created the academy in 2009. With over 40 years of experience, ADAC currently operates 53 helicopters on 37 bases.
With 160 pilots, 280 paramedics and 700 doctors, the organization flew 54,000 HEMS missions in 2015 alone. ADAC has a respected record for safe flying and successful HEMS mission execution and has built up considerable expertise. This mission experience has translated into safety-oriented training in the classroom, in the simulators and in actual helicopters at the ADAC HEMS Academy.
Operators from various mission profiles, including HEMS, law enforcement, and VIP services, as well as offshore operators from Argentina, Brazil, Japan and Australia, value the professional service and personal touch of the academy.
The upcoming H145 Level D simulator sets a new standard in the world of helicopter simulation.
“Our goal is to provide the highest level of realistic flight experiences in our Level D trainers, where we can put flight crews into perilous situations that could never be tried in actual aircraft,” said Frank Thieser, Reiser’s chief sales and strategy officer. “The value of such ultra-realistic flight training for pilots cannot be overestimated.”
The ADAC HEMS Academy H145 Level D simulator has a full six-degrees-of-freedom electric motion and vibration system. The field of view out-of-window display measures 240 degrees horizontally by 80 degrees vertically, with the moving imagery being directly projected using 15 two-channel high-definition LED video projectors.
With an intuitive on-board instructor operating station (IOS); sophisticated briefing and de-briefing stations, which allow creating and pre-programming of training scenarios; and a wide rear cabin for fast roll-on/roll-off of cockpit interchanges and mission kits, the new system provides maximum flexibility.
The new H145 model is undergoing certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The FFS is expected to be ready for training by mid-May 2017, and actually exceeds Level D requirements by offering student pilots the chance to train for night vision goggle (NVG) flight.
“Pilots can bring their own night vision goggles to train on our new H145 simulator,” said Thieser. “This is a priceless training experience and makes a real difference for all pilots, after they leave here and use NVGs on actual missions.”
To complete the system, ADAC HEMS Academy also acquired two H145 desktop trainers as a cost-effective add-on. This interactive tool, based on the FFS software, makes simulator time more efficient, providing in-depth knowledge transfer–for example, during type rating training or in preparation for a simulator session.
“Whether for a new type rating, recurrent or specialized mission training for pilots on the EC135/H135, legacy model EC145, and now the new H145, the ADAC HEMS Academy offers a comprehensive academic and training environment,” said Huetsch.
“Moreover, this is where ADAC trains our own HEMS teams, so non-ADAC students can be sure that they are receiving the same top level of instruction given to Germany’s largest air ambulance service.”
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