Bristow to invest in training school at ABZ

[Richard Taylor]

A £5-6m investment to acquire sims for the EC225 & S92A.

Was in the local BBC radio news, soz must be true! :}

[ScrumpyLuvver]

ABZ? Am I the only one who doesn't know where this is?

[Whirlygig]

Aberdeen. But I'm sure there are others who don't know - just remember, there's no such thing as a stupid question in aviation!

Cheers

Whirls

[Veni_vidi_vici]

Helicopter school set to take off

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44126000/jpg/_44126204_bristow2033.jpg Bristow hopes to secure sufficient well-trained pilots

A major helicopter training academy is set to take flight in Aberdeen.
Offshore helicopter operator Bristow has announced it is investing up to £6m in state-of-the-art flight simulators for its new helicopters.
The simulators would go into the training school which Bristow hopes to set up in the city. At present, North Sea operators have to send pilots for training abroad. Bristow hopes the school will help train sufficient numbers of pilots. It also hopes it will provide "the best, most comprehensively trained pilots for operations worldwide".

[Blackhawk9]

5 to 6 mill pounds will be lucky to get you one sim let alone 2 and training school buildings etc, more like 15 to 20 mill pounds if they are serious.

[212man]

I think you will find they are Frasca level B FFS. Prices of top end FTDs and lower end FFS are around the £2 million mark.

[HeliComparator]

212 - yes, you are right and having flown some super expensive level D sims, and a very much cheaper modern FTD3 with visuals and motion, there was not a great difference in the training value but a massive difference in the cost. I my opinion the FTD 3 I flew was better than the level D in one respect - visual texture near the ground made hover work far more realistic. I think the fancy level Ds still suffer from their fixed-wing heritage where ground texture at 15' eye height was not an issue (fw cockpits being much higher than that).

HC

[Wizzard]

Is this going to be a new building or are they using the existing one? Perhaps that's why the 6mil will be enough for the 2 FTDs


I concur with HeliComparator regarding the fidelity of modern FTDs, I have flown a couple and they are as good and is some cases better than the Level D FFS.
Wiz

[tomotomp]

I belive that a S92 sim is slotted for EGLF.....

[Bravo73]

PS EGLF is Farnborough.


:ok:

[HeliComparator]

Its certainly been talked about but is it actually happening?

HC

[Tractor_Driver]

H.C.

your colleagues had better hope so, as I believe their medium term training plans are based on it.

TD

[HeliComparator]

TD - was there any sort of press announcement that a 92 sim was going there? Normally if something like that is certain, there is a press release (free advertising!). If no press release then surely it can't be definite? Following another manufacturer's machinations and procrastination with simulators, I tend not to believe anything until there is a public announcement!

HC

[Reflex]

I can state with confidence that there WILL be a sim at Farnborough for the S92.
The sim should arrive any day (if it's not there already) and will take a few weeks to rebuild.
The rest of the year will be spent gaining all the approvals from the CAA/JAA.
The instructors have already been to WPB to learn the course and can't wait to get going.
For all you Bristow guys, one of the instuctors is Graham Westgate who spent many a year in Aberdeen.
Flightsafety have a target start-up in mid December but I think the beginning of January is more likely.

[212man]

Reflex is correct, the first conversion was due to start on 1st December, but will probably move right, to January. Other names involved are David Sale and Tim Oates, I believe.

HC, you are right about the graphics fidelity: very much due to the FW origin. I tend to allow hovering slightly high, to compensate. Maybe your ECF polarised glasses have filtered out the press releases!

[HeliComparator]

212 - Oh well its alright for some, I still have to wait another year+ for a sim whilst you have got 2! Is that greedy or what?

HC

[jonnyloove]

Is That Tim Oates off AAC fame and Shell Brunei in the 1980s?? Is that legend not retired????

Mr Loove:)

[electric69]

I was speaking to a member of the Bristow team today and he informed me that there are NO plans to CURRENTLY open up another school in ABZ. he did say that they were getting two new sims there however.

[212man]

It depends on your definition of a NEW school! I think you'll find the current location is not adequate to accomodate two new simulators, and the old 332L one, so a new LOCATION is highly likely. I'm sure HC can elaborate :ok:

HC, I know the feeling: I had to wait 3 years for the 155 sim:ugh: Just arrived here in WPB, where it's a sultry 83F and storms are brewing. The beer's cold though ;)