As part of its ever growing presence in the Chinese aerospace market, Thales has announced the Level D qualification of the very first EC135 full-flight simulator (FFS) by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The Thales Reality H EC135 helicopter simulator is housed in the aviation safety facilities, Haite Group’s flight training centre in Tianjin.

With the addition of the Thales EC135 FFS, the Haite training center in Tianjin will be instrumental in meeting the increasing demand for helicopter pilot training in China, offering unrivalled training packages to emergency medical services and commercial operators for both training new pilots and gearing up existing pilots in complex and demanding missions.

The Thales Reality H helicopter flight simulator is already in service around the world and was chosen for the first time in China because it provides operational efficiencies and high quality mission-oriented training to pilots. This high-fidelity FFS features an extended visual display of 240 degrees x 80 degrees field of view, combined with high-resolution geospecific imagery from the ThalesView image generator and an efficient and user-friendly instructor operating system (IOS). Its unique and revolutionary all-electric motion system, Hexaline provides the most realistic motion cues while requiring less power and very low maintenance. These innovative modelling technologies create a completely immersive environment that make the Reality H the most realistic and efficient training tool on the market to support helicopter operators’ key priorities of safety and mission success.

“This new Level D qualification of the Reality H full-flight simulator by the CAAC follows the qualifications by EASA [European Aviation Safety Agency] and CASA [Civil Aviation Safety Authority] in Europe and Australia and proves once more that it is the most advanced mission training device in the world,” said Benoit Plantier, Thales vice president, training and simulation activities. “The fantastic demand for highly skilled pilots in China, the fastest growing helicopter markets in the world means there is a constant need for the best and most thorough training and simulation systems. The significant expertise of Thales in terms of international simulation standards and regulation will position Haite as a leader on the helicopter pilots training market in China.”