Determined to improve the overall safety of helicopter flights in the Nigerian and regional aviation sector, Caverton, has chosen Thales, a French firm to supply reality H full-flight Simulator for AW139 Pilot Training at its facility centre at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport,Lagos.
Caverton is a key provider of aviation and marine logistics services to businesses operating in the oil and gas sector.
The centre being the first of its kind in Africa to advance safety for the dedicated men and women who fly every day, is being set up on the same site as Caverton’s brand new purpose-built Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at Lagos airport.
The Thales Reality H Full Flight Simulator is the world’s most advanced commercial helicopter simulator which will be used to provide realistic scenario-based flight and mission training to AW139 helicopter operators in the region as well as Caverton’s own pilots and crews.
The development which is meant to deliver AW139 simulator training to pilots, is a key step forward in Caverton’s strategic move into flight simulation training services.
The simulator will be installed at Caverton’s new training centre, designed to meet the increased demand for helicopter pilot training and, in particular, to eliminate the challenges experienced by many pilots aiming to obtain initial and recurrent training.
The benefits available in the simulator include its ability “to support a large range of training needs, such as Type Rating, Recurrent Training and Proficiency Checks for both Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), including offshore missions and VIP operations to unprepared landing sites.
It will be qualified to meet EASA Level D standard, the highest level of qualification for a simulator.
“The simulator being delivered to Caverton will enable pilots that fly AW139 twin-engine helicopters – one of the most popular helicopter platforms in Nigeria and the region – to be fully immersed in a realistic virtual environment representing Nigerian operational areas, and learn to handle a multitude of system failures and overcome very complex malfunctions should they arise in the real world.
Commenting on the feat, Chairman, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Aderemi Makanjuola declared: “Pilots can thus train safely in high-risk mission scenarios in a range of weather conditions.
“We are delighted to add Thales to our growing list of partners and we are confident in providing the best helicopter training with this Full Flight Level D Simulator. Safety is our priority at Caverton and we are committed to improving flight safety across our industry and the region through simulator-based training.”
