Caverton helicopter giant records major feat

Caverton, a leading indigenous aviation and marine logistics player for the Nigerian oil and gas industry has recorded another feat as the helicopter company giant has signed the factory acceptance of a Thales Reality H. simulator.

Caverton’s signing of the factory acceptance of the Thales Reality H simulator has made it the first helicopter full flight simulator Level ‘D’ to be installed in Africa.

The signing of the factory acceptance of the AW139 Reality HFull-Flight Simulator by Caverton and Thales which took place in Cergy, France last Thursday came in less than one year after the contract signature and before its departure to the Caverton Aviation Training Center in Nigeria.

The Thales Reality H Full FlightSimulator level ‘D’, which has been described as one of the world’s most advanced commercial helicopter simulators, will be used to provide superior scenario-based flight and mission training to AW139 helicopter operators across the African continent as well as Caverton’s pilots and crew.

With this simulator, Caverton will deliver state-of-the-art training: including initial type rating, recurrent training and proficiency checks for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), offshore and onshore missions as well as VIP operations to unprepared landing sites.

According to Caverton management “This simulator will enable pilots become certified to fly the AW139 under various Civil aviation Authority approvals. It will be one of the most popular helicopter platforms in Nigeria and in the region to be fully immersed in a realistic virtual environment representing Nigeria Operational locations and learn to handle a multitude of system failures and overcome very complex malfunctions should they arise in the real world. Pilots can thus train safely in high-risk mission scenarios in a range of adverse weather conditions.”

The company said it aimed to provide an accessible platform for advanced training and create opportunities for the sector in Africa, a move described  a major step forward in Caverton’s strategy to diversify its portfolio of services to include flight simulation training services and thereby support safer helicopter logistics operations.

Speaking on the achievement, the Managing Director of Caverton Helicopters Ltd, Mr Rotimi Makanjuola, declared “This Is an important milestone, not just for Caverton as an indigenous company, but for Nigeria and the African continent. We pride ourselves in being pioneers in safety innovation and are committed to providing enhanced training opportunities for our pilots in-country as well as to third party operators across Africa. With this significant investment and with the support from Thales, a globally renowned company, we believe that the simulator will ultimately benefit our customers and increase accessibility to world class flight simulation training services.”

For the Vice President, Training & Simulation business of Thales, Peter Hitchcock: “we are very proud to share a trusted relationship with Caverton and we are committed to help the company improving flight safety across the region thanks to the first helicopter full flight simulator to be installed in Africa.”