Market Intelligence: -Suppliers

Flight Simulator Manufacturer, Simnest Aviation, Reduces its CO2 Emissions by Nearly 35 Tons Per Year

The assembly plant of Simnest Aviation, well known for its Airbus A320-based flight simulators, has undergone a major building energy efficiency upgrade. Thanks to the green development, the company’s factory in Hatvan, near Budapest, has become completely gas-independent and its electricity needs are met by a 48.8kWp solar panel system, reducing the building’s annual CO2 emissions by nearly 35 tons.

Simnest Aviation is one of the major Hungarian representatives of the international aviation industry. For almost ten years, the company has been producing its in-house developed simulators based on the Airbus A320 aircraft, which are currently used to train future commercial pilots in six countries around the world.

The 1000 square meter main building of their assembly plant, located in Hatvan, a small town near the capital, consists of two halls and a two-storey office building connecting them. The nearly €300 000 project involved insulating 768 square meters of wall surface, 237 square meters of slab and 538 square meters of roof.

Some of the unnecessary windows and doors of the building have been bricked up, and the remaining 55 windows and 5 garage doors have been replaced with insulated ones. In total, the 208 square meters of uninsulated or poorly insulated openings of the building were replaced by 158 square meters of modern insulated windows and doors.

The heating system of the building was also completely renewed, making the plant completely gas- independent. The new heating system is powered by four 4*16 KW air-to-water heat pumps with energy efficiency class A++.

A very significant increase in energy efficiency has been achieved by the installation of a 48.8kWp solar panel system in the courtyard of the building, which can supply both the consumption of the building and building services as well. Thanks to this development the site became self-sufficient in electricity.“As a simulator manufacturer, we are also aware of the impact of aviation on our living world. Therefore, we cannot be satisfied with providing the best possible training tools for future pilots, we must also contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment for them. We are proud of the fact that as a result of our energy efficiency improvements the annual CO2 emissions of our assembly plant have been reduced from 41.99 to 7,25 tons, and its energy demand has been reduced to almost zero,” commented Miklós Kacsó, CEO of Simnest Aviation.

Source: Simnest Aviation Press Release
Photo Credit: Simnest Aviation

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Italian Group Helixcom Acquires Loft Dynamics H125 Simulator to Establish Training Center for Helicopter Pilots

Loft Dynamics AG (formerly VRM Switzerland), creator and operator of the world’s first and only virtual reality (VR) simulators qualified by a major aviation regulator, announced the sale of a VR Airbus H125 training device to Multicom based in Sicily, Italy. Helixcom – a subsidiary of Multicom – will use the simulator to establish a training and competence center for helicopter pilots. This is Loft Dynamics’ first simulator in Italy, demonstrating the region’s independent demand for such realistic training devices.

Helixcom will install and operate a Loft Dynamics H125 training device at their home base south of Caltanissetta, in the heart of Sicily, Italy. This showcases the versatility of the devices, as they can be efficiently operated in even the most remote locations. Pilots will no longer have to spend valuable time traveling to distant simulator centers. Having an on-site simulator also enables flexible scheduling of training sessions and checks, irrespective of weather conditions. An exemplary case is Air Greenland, which has already successfully integrated the Loft Dynamics training device into their operations in Nuuk, Greenland.

Helixcom currently operates five Airbus H125 Helicopters at their own airfield south of Caltanissetta, with three of them owned by their parent company, Multicom. By acquiring a Loft Dynamics simulator, Helixcom aims to establish a comprehensive training and competence center for helicopter pilots. This center will provide pilots with realistic training experiences, leveraging the numerous advantages of simulator training, including the execution of abnormal procedures and the ability to handle demanding scenarios through scenario-based exercises.

“Multicom will install a simulator at its aviation technical centre in Sicily, which complements existing authorized training organizations (ATOs), aircraft operators, and training centers. Safety is fundamental to any transport system, and it is our top priority. Helicopters are widely used in Europe, particularly in services such as HEMS (helicopter emergency medical service), surveillance, police operations, aerial work, and agriculture. Statistics show that progress in reducing helicopter fatalities in the EU has remained virtually unchanged in recent years. This is where simulators come in—they have proven to enable pilots to gain experience efficiently, safely, and cost-effectively. Simulators allow future pilots to practice various training scenarios and operational procedures tailored to their specific field of activity which has a positive impact on flight safety,” says Gianluca Mannino Gueli, owner of Multicom. The simulator installed at Multicom in Sicily is the first of its kind in Italy. “We are pleased that pilots in Italy now also have access to realistic state-of-the-art simulator training. This could be a sign that our training device will soon become established in other regions as well,” said Fabi Riesen, CEO of Loft Dynamics.

About Helixcom

Helixcom was established through a partnership with companies from the telecommunications sector. The company has 25 years of experience in the aviation field and offers helicopter transport services and aerial work throughout Italy. By investing in the best technologies, Helixcom strives daily to enhance the already high-quality standards.

About Loft Dynamics

Loft Dynamics AG (formerly VRM Switzerland) is a market-leading company specializing in VR training devices for helicopter pilots. Founded in 2016, our mission is to revolutionize global aviation with cutting-edge VR flight simulators. Equipped with a 3D high-resolution panoramic view, dynamic six-degrees-of-motion platform, and full-scale replica cockpit with a unique pose tracking system, our simulators provide an immersive, realistic, customizable, and risk-free training experience. By offering a training solution 10 times smaller and 20 times less expensive than traditional simulators, we enhance training accessibility and scalability, empowering highly skilled pilots to meet global demand. As the world’s first and only qualified VR flight simulation training device (FSTD), achieving FTD Level 3 qualification from EASA, we serve leading manufacturers, airlines, operators, schools, and organizations worldwide. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, our team comprises passionate engineers, developers, and aviation experts.

Source: Loft Dynamics Press Release
Photo Credit: Loft Dynamics

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L3Harris Commercial Aviation Announces Annual Safety Seminar for 2023

L3Harris Commercial Aviation announces the upcoming “L3Harris Flight Safety Seminar 2023” set on September 27, 2023 – September 28, 2023 in Crawley, UK. The seminar brings together industry experts and thought leaders to discuss data intelligence and the insights it provides the ever-evolving world of flight safety management.

Event Information

“Industry experts will deliver insightful talks relating to industry safety and flight data analytics. The seminar always creates an inclusive environment of open discussions and interactive Q&A sessions.

The seminar (taking place on September 27-28) brings together industry experts and thought leaders to discuss data intelligence and the insights it provides the ever-evolving world of flight safety management.

L3Harris has a strong heritage in aviation safety. With more than 170 rotary and fixed-wing aircraft customers worldwide we monitor over 6,000 aircraft across 150+ airframes. Our customers benchmark and validate operational performance against a database of over 16 million flights.

Speakers at this year’s Seminar include:

  • Mark Searle (IATA)
  • Edward Jumi (IATA)
  • Dai Whittingham (UKFSC),
  • Joji Waites (BALPA)
  • Steve Forward (CHIRP)
  • Conor Nolan (Aer Lingus)
  • Simon Oldfield (UK Airprox Board)
  • Robert Campbell Smith (representing European Regional Airlines Association)
  • Cengiz Turkoglu (Cranfield University)
  • Adam Johns (TFL)
  • Ole Rubeck (Sunclass Airlines)
  • Charlie Auty (Eastern Airways)
  • Gavin Moir (National Air Traffic Service)
  • Members of the L3Harris Flight Data Analytics team”

You can find find more information about this event here.

Source: L3Harris Commercial Aviation Announcement
Photo Credit: L3Harris Commercial Aviation (shown as meta image)

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Government Agency Selects VR/MR Flight Simulator Manufacturer, Vertex Solutions, for the Next-Generation Mixed Tactical Jet Training Device

United States Department of Defense organization Defense Innovation Unit has again selected Vertex Solutions, a leading developer of high-fidelity learning technology, including virtual and mixed reality (VR and MR) pilot training for its third consecutive advanced pilot training program. The Virtual TRaining for Air Dominance (VTRAD) MR simulator will support the USAF’s new Fighter/Bomber Fundamentals (FBF) tactical jet training course, training the next generation of fast-jet pilots. This project will transform the common immersive training devices (cITDs) Vertex delivered under the Pilot Training Transformation program into a MR simulator with integrated hardware avionics and a new advanced T-38C aircraft model. Vertex will produce an upgrade kit to modify existing cITDs into the VTRAD configuration providing higher fidelity training at lower cost. This is exciting news for the fighter and bomber pilot communities, who can now interact with critical hardware avionics components integrated into Vertex Solutions’ proven cITD platform currently in use at all undergraduate pilot training locations.

“The introduction of 5th Generation aircraft fundamentally changed the nature of air warfare and the training required for U.S. military pilots,” DIU said. “Specifically, this evolution revealed major limitations in the legacy pilot training ecosystem, which relies heavily on monolithic simulator systems and live-flights and suffers from limited network interoperability and content-delivery capabilities.”

“VTRAD marks the next generation of training technology for fighter jet aircraft and a glimpse into the future for Vertex Solutions. MR provides a genuine pathway for a lightweight advanced fighter flight simulator. Vertex is proud to be at the forefront of this cutting-edge technology. It’s exciting to build on our past successes by offering cost-effective, modular, and immersive flight simulators to the USAF in support of their future training requirements,” said Dennis Wikoff, President and COO, Vertex Solutions.

The initial contract requirement is to deliver a T-38C tactical trainer aircraft simulator for 19AF’s new FBF course under AETC. The unique modularity of Vertex Solutions’ design, however, allows DIU and Vertex Solutions to develop a capability that can be rapidly extended to multiple other tactical jet trainer aircraft, like the F-16, and soon, the T-7A.

Vertex Solutions is developing the innovative reconfigurable VTRAD simulator under an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contract vehicle. OTAs allow this and other projects to succeed in an environment that is faster to field—think having an “Easy Button” for contracting. Similar contracts in the past would typically take two to three years to bring the capability to the end user. This concept will deliver a prototype within one year from announcement of the solicitation, and a full solution (five devices initially) within a 19-month period of performance. Success on this OTA means other organizations can purchase any successful component of the prototype technology via streamlined OTA production contracts.

About Vertex Solutions

A woman-owned small business that has been providing award-winning training support services to the U.S. Government and private-sector firms for nearly 30 years. We specialize in integrating the latest in learning science, hardware, and software to produce the most effective training possible. As a prime contractor for DIU’s Pilot Training Transformation (PTT) and Multi-Place Mixed Reality (MPMR) Flight Simulator programs, for which we’ve successfully designed, developed, and delivered more than 260 fixed- and rotary-wing XR flight simulators to the USAF, as well as hundreds of smaller XR training devices, we are already making great strides toward revolutionizing pilot training. The US Navy has also adopted these same reconfigurable simulators for their T-6 and T-45 training programs.

Source: Vertex Solutions Press Release
Photo Credit: Vertex Solutions

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Pilot Ground School Materials Provider, Padpilot, Announces Expansion with the Creation of New Roles

Padpilot is recruiting a number of roles for its headquarters in Gloucester as part of an expansion plan. The aviation publisher recently announced the launch of its new multi-device content platform that allows its interactive pilot training manuals to be accessed on any device: Apple or android, via its eReader app and online browser. The new platform runs in parallel with the company’s best-selling Apple Book (iBook) theory manuals.

With 140 training partners worldwide and ebook downloads now totalling 300,000+, Padpilot is looking for three exceptional people to help take its best-selling resources for leading pilot training providers to the next level. 

Operations Manager, Katharine Westwood, said: “As our product range and global customer base expands, we also need to expand to our brilliant team of specialists.”  

Junior Account Manager

Padpilot is recruiting a dynamic Junior Account Manager to work alongside the sales and customer support teams in this key, customer-facing role.  

This team player will be responsible for the day to day management of customer portfolios, building and maintaining relationships with international commercial partners, as well as assisting with trade show event attendance. There may be some occasional international travel.

Chief Technical Editor

Responsible for commissioning, writing and editing aviation theory content, the Chief Technical Editor leads the editorial team to ensure Padpilotresources are always up to date with technical and operational developments in commercial aviation. They’ll also work with in-house designers to create exciting new visuals that enhance student understanding and help bring the subject matter to life. 

This post requires someone who holds, or has held, an Airline Transport Pilot Licence with 1500 hrs + of operational experience, is highly detail-orientated with an instinctive enthusiasm for educating the next generation of airline pilots.

Head of Learning Development 

The final new role as part of Padpilot’s expansion programme is Head of Learning Development. This senior post offers a challenging blend of executive responsibility and hands-on creative, technological development to lead the evolution of next-generation ground school content and systems.

This specialist role requires a qualified military or commercial pilot with leadership experience, problem-solving flair, familiarity with the latest technology and an ability to think creatively to develop Padpilot’s pioneering learning delivery systems further. 

About Padpilot 

Padpilot delivers innovative resources for the theoretical knowledge phase of pilot training.  In 2011, Padpilot pioneered the first ever iPad theory books, the first new EASA 2020 ATPL-A syllabus books in 2020 and the first EASA 2020 ATPL-H syllabus books written solely for helicopter pilots in July ’22. Padpilot ground school materials are used by 140+ airlines, air forces, universities and training organisations all over the world. We’re proud to provide teaching and learning resources to some of the largest pilot training organisations globally.

Padpilot’s ebooks have been downloaded more than 300,000 times. Their advanced e-learning technology brings aviation theory to life: students can highlight, search and make note cards within the books to aid study, and embedded 3D models and animations transform reading into an immersive experience which promotes understanding and memory retention. Padpilot’s team of subject matter expert authors follow the syllabi Learning Objectives but add operational information and case studies to put theory content into context, giving student pilots a more rounded theoretical knowledge education. In-depth analysis and consultation with airlines is undertaken regularly to identify and update core knowledge and skills requirements. 

Source: Padpilot Press Release
Photo Credit: Padpilot (shown as meta image)

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