Training Begins at FlightSafety's Newest Helicopter Learning Center

LA GUARDIA AIRPORT, NY – Simulator-based helicopter pilot training has begun at FlightSafety International’s newest state-of-the-art Learning Center in Lafayette, LA.

"Our new center provides yet another convenient location for helicopter operators to take advantage of our mission-specific training to ensure crew proficiency," says Bruce Whitman, President & CEO, FlightSafety International. "Regulators, industry groups and insurers all increasingly emphasize simulator-based training as an essential element for improved helicopter safety. Our Lafayette center takes center stage at the cutting edge of safety training."

Customers will benefit from the center's fully qualified Level D Sikorsky S-76C+/C++ simulator, engineered and manufactured by FlightSafety. The simulator incorporates electric motion and control loading and the company's advanced VITAL visual system.

The new 70,000-square-foot center, which accommodates up to eight full flight simulators, features classrooms equipped with MATRIX, FlightSafety’s exclusive integrated training system technology, and ample customer service areas.

The center also will host a full complement of FlightSafety’s advanced technology flight training devices.

"These groundbreaking Level 7 FTDs represent a significant advance in training technology," says George Ferito, Director Rotorcraft Business Development for FlightSafety. "They more closely resemble a full flight simulator without the motion base than they do earlier-generation FTDs. They enable us to provide high-quality, comprehensive and cost-effective mission-specific training on a wide variety of twin- and single-engine aircraft types."

The Lafayette Learning Center offers mission-specific training for most major helicopter operations, including offshore, EMS, news gathering, and law enforcement. Offshore operations training covers the majority of helicopter types operating in the Gulf region. Gulf Coast operators currently use approximately eight different rotorcraft models manufactured by Agusta, AgustaWestland, Bell, Eurocopter, and Sikorsky.