The H145 simulator at the Airbus Helicopters Training Academy in Germany has been awarded Level D status by the German Federal Aviation Office, the highest certification for a full flight simulator. Not only is this simulator the world's first certified full flight simulator for the H145, but it is also the first helicopter simulator in Germany to receive EASA Level D certification.

The simulator provides customers with a range of training opportunities, in particular for missions under extreme flight conditions and for emergency procedures. With this airworthiness authority approval, more training hours accumulated by pilots in the full flight simulator are now authorised to be logged as actual flight hours.

Level D helicopter simulators must meet a number of criteria, including the ability to move in six directions, to provide a field of view of at least 180°, to work with realistic acoustic and visual simulations, and to perform several special motion effects. The new simulator in Donauwörth fulfils these requirements.

The simulator is suitable for initial training and refresher courses, specific instruction on emergency procedures, IFR flights, and for flights in offshore conditions and at night with NVGs. Each year, more than 400 pilots pass through the Training Academy in Donauwörth, completing at least 1,500 flight hours in the process.

“Thanks to the world's first H145 simulator, we can provide our customers with an excellent training environment,” explains Charles Hebeka, head of Airbus Helicopters training centres in Germany. “This is a further step we are taking together with our customers towards guaranteeing maximum flight safety when they operate our helicopters.”