Recently, the first A400M Full Flight Simulator (FFS) designed and built by Thales for Airbus Military received European Aviation Safety Agency’s qualification for training. This qualification is a key enabling milestone that allows Airbus Military to start to train A400M flight crews for their complex missions in a safe environment.
The Full Flight Simulator utilizes aircraft hardware and software that represents the initial configuration of the A400M aircraft cockpit and simulates the ground and flight operations of the aircraft in various natural and tactical environments.
It includes an enhanced field of view visual system that is capable of supporting training in all aircraft maneuvers, including air-to-air refueling and low level tactical operations. A six degrees of freedom motion system, on-board and off-board instructor stations and a record and replay system to aid crew briefing and debriefing is also provided.
As new aircraft data is made available, Thales and Airbus Military teams are also working to obtain Level D certification for this simulator.
Thales is the main supplier of the A400M’s avionics system, covering cockpit displays systems, Head-up displays, Flight management systems, Integrated Modular avionics, Enhanced Vision System.
Through a joint venture with Airbus Military, Thales has also been selected by the UK MoD for the provision of its through life support training service, which includes the design, construction and management of the A400M training school, the installation and maintenance of full flight simulators and all synthetic training equipment, and support to the RAF’s own course design team and training staff.
The training school will be built at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, with work planned to complete in Spring 2014. The school will train a range of aircrew and ground crew in the operation and maintenance of the RAF’s 22 A400M Atlas aircrafts.
