HATSOFF to be operational by 2010: HAL official

A new helicopter training centre - Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) - a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd (HAL) and Canada-based CAE, would be operational by 2010, a top HAL official said.
   
Sanjeev Sahi, Director (HR), HAL, speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the centre on Monday, said "HASTSOFF will offer Level-D simulator training to helicopter pilots and maintainers."
   
"Partnering with CAE, we are making sure the simulation technology is at the leading edge in order to play a key role in training and producing skilled and mission-ready helicopter crews," HAL said in a release here.
   
HAL is committed to enhance the safety of helicopter operators in India and to provide a complete service offering for military and civil clients of the Dhruv helicopter, Sahi said.
   
Martin Gagne, Chairman HATSOFF Directors Board and CAE's Group President, Military Simulation Products, Training and Services, said HATSOFF will serve a critical need for enhancing safety and mission readiness.
   
"We are proud to partner with HAL to create a training centre of excellence offering high-quality simulation-based helicopter training programmes to pilots and technicians of India and the surrounding region.
   
"The centre is an illustraion of our commitment to provide high-quality, customised training in locations most convenient to our customers," Martin added.    

The Centre will be equipped with a CAE-built fill-mission simulator featuring CAE's revolutionary roll-on or roll-off cockpit design, which enables cockpits representing various helicopter types to be used in the simulator, the release said.
   
When fully operational, HATSOFF would be able to train up to 400 helicopter pilots each year.
   
Initially, HATSOFF would offer comprehensive training to civil and military customers operating four helicopter types - The Indian Army/Air Force variant of the HAL-built Dhruv, the civil variant of the Dhruv, the Bell 412 and the Eurocopter Dauphin, it added.
   
The training centre would feature multimedia clasrooms, computer-based training brief/debrief facilities and a training management information system.
   
CAE-built full-mission simulator for HATSOFF would feature a common motion system, vibration platform and visual display
system and four separate cockpit modules that could be used in
the full-mission simulator, it said.
   
When a cockpit is not used in the full-mission simulator, it will be used as a fixed-based Flight Training Device (FTD).
   
The simulator will be certified to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Indian DGCA Level-D, the highest qualification for flight simulators.