Germany-based Blissair has opened a new flight simulation centre in the city of Bocholt near the Dutch border. From now on, professional type training, recurrent and safety training as well as check flights for the Beechcraft King Air BE90/99/100/200 series can be completed on a Level D full-flight simulator from CAE.

"This gives us a unique selling point in Europe," says founder and CEO Dipl Ing Franz-Hermann Enk.

Blissair's service portfolio is equally attractive for aviation companies and private owners as it is for flight schools (ATOs) and type rating examiners (TRE). The full-flight simulator is certified according to CS-FSTD(A) Issue 2 (approach-to-stall) for upset prevention training (UPRT ) and recovery training. It simulates a King Air B200 with integrated Pro Line 21 avionics system. This makes it possible to realistically simulate critical flight situations such as those caused by very violent turbulences (wake turbulences) or stalls, as well as emergency scenarios or system failures, without endangering human lives or aircraft. Moreover, the time spent in the virtual environment is significantly more environmentally friendly and less expensive than an hour's flight in a real aircraft.

The company has constructed its own building for the full-flight simulator, equipped with a special foundation to guarantee a safe footing even during daring flight manoeuvres. This is important because, in contrast to pure software simulators, in these high-tech devices from CAE the entire cockpit is moved in all conceivable directions with the help of powerful electric actuators and can shake quite a bit.

"Everything has to be as realistic as possible," says Enk.

The simulation centre includes several rooms to train small groups or brief pilots. A certificate is usually issued directly on site.