New Zealand – The Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust has unveiled a $2.7 million Entrol H145 FNPT II MCC simulator at the GCH Aviation Air Rescue Base in Christchurch, one of only five joint cockpit and winch simulators in the world and the only one configured to replicate the specific H145 winch setup and geographical terrain of the operator's Canterbury, West Coast, and top of the South Island coverage area.

The simulator is estimated to save approximately 220 hours of training flying time per year following the introduction of full IFR capability across all bases operated by GCH Aviation.
The unit was installed at GCH Aviation's Air Rescue Base in Christchurch by three Entrol engineers over a one-month period, following pre-installation testing and configuration work conducted at Entrol's Spanish facility by GCH Aviation's IFR training manager Brent Fredericksen and critical care paramedic Shane Lynch.
The simulator features an H145 cockpit replica with a 220° × 80° field of view spherical visual LED system, a Mixed Reality Hoist Operator Station using green screens and virtual reality goggles, and technology replicating noise, vibration, and real aircraft systems.
The simulator can recreate weather, time of day, cloud, wind, helicopter downwash, boat movement, and land features including slope, rock, and trees. High-definition terrain modelling has been developed for local operating areas including Mt Rolleston and Crow River Valley.
The Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust has also purchased four H145 rescue helicopters — three for Canterbury and the West Coast, and one for the Nelson Marlborough region. Three of the four are in service, with the fourth due to enter service in the coming months.
Shane Lynch is the only winch operator in the world to have worked directly with Entrol to modify the H145 simulator to match a specific H145 configuration and local terrain.
Rescue helicopter pilots undergo regular training in night vision goggle use, day and night winching, water and boat winching, and mountain flying. The simulator enables training on scenarios that cannot be safely practised in aircraft, including cutting the winch cable and fouling the hook in trees.

Source: Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust

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