The first helicopter full flight simulator Level ‘D’ to be install in Africa will soon become a reality in Nigeria following advanced preparation to deliver the facility to a leading helicopter operator in the country.
Less than one year after the contract signature and before its departure to the Caverton Aviation Training Center in Nigeria, Caverton and Thales signed the Factory Acceptance for the AW139 Reality H Full-Flight Simulator in Cergy, France.
According to reports, The Thales Reality H Full Flight Simulator level ‘D’, is one of the world’s most advanced commercial helicopter simulator, and will be used to provide superior scenario-based flight and mission training to AW139 helicopter operators across the African continent as well as Caverton’s pilots and crew.
The company disclosed that with the simulator, Caverton will deliver state-of-the-art training: including Initial Type Rating, Recurrent Training and Proficiency Checks for both Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), offshore and onshore missions as well as VIP operations to unprepared landing sites.
“This simulator will enable pilots become certified to fly the AW139 under various Civil aviation Authority approvals. It will be one of the most popular helicopter platforms in Nigeria and in the region to be fully immersed in a realistic virtual environment representing Nigerian operational locations and learn to handle a multitude of system failures and overcome very complex malfunctions should they arise in the real world. Pilots can thus train safely in high-risk mission scenarios in a range of adverse weather conditions.”
Rotimi Makanjuola, MD Caverton Helicopters Ltd remarks that “as a leading indigenous aviation and marine logistics player for the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The company aims to provide an accessible platform for advanced training and create opportunities for the sector in Africa. This move is a major step forward in Caverton’s strategy to diversify its portfolio of services to include flight simulation training services and thereby support safer helicopter logistics operations.”
Makanjuola added that “This is an important milestone, not just for Caverton as an indigenous company, but for Nigeria and the African continent. We pride ourselves in being pioneers in safety innovation and are committed to providing enhanced training opportunities for our pilots in-country as well as to third party operators across Africa.
With this significant investment and with the support from Thales, a globally renowned company, we believe that the simulator will ultimately benefit our customers and increase accessibility to world class flight simulation training services.”
Also speaking, Vice President of Training & Simulation business of Thales, Peter Hitchcock said “we are very proud to share a trusted relationship with Caverton and we are committed to help the company improving flight safety across the region thanks to the first helicopter full flight simulator to be installed in Africa.”
Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics emerges global Cargo Marketer of the year
The cargo arm of African leading airline, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services, Africa’s largest network cargo operator has won the ‘International Air Cargo Marketer of the Year’ Award at the 2020 STAT International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo at a ceremony held in Mumbai, India.
The firm won the award for its valuable contribution to the air cargo industry in a highly competitive and one of the fastest growing markets in the world.
Ethiopian Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam said “We are honored to have won the ‘International Air Cargo Marketer of the Year’ award which bears testimony to our leading cargo and logistics services in Africa and different parts of the world, catalyzing multi-faceted growth in all the regions we serve.
Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services has built the largest cargo terminal in Africa with a capacity of close to 1 million tons annually.
