From the outside, Frasca International’s AS350B2/H125 level 7 flight training device (FTD) on exhibit at Heli-Expo 2016 could be mistaken a full-flight simulator, because it sits four feet off the floor and is covered by a wide dome. When “flying” the trainer it’s easy to get so involved in the highly realistic scenes created by Frasca’s TruVision Global visual system, the vibration base, accurate aerodynamic and low-speed models and the movement of a real yaw string (cleverly controlled by computer and agitated by a fan on the floor below the cockpit) that you forget you are not really moving.
The FTD is almost completed and will be heading back to Frasca’s facility in Urbana, Ill., for the final development before being delivered to Canadian Helicopters at Edmonton Airport, Alberta. HNZ Company, which owns Canadian Helicopters, is sharing exhibit space (Booth 9256) and demonstrating the FTD with Frasca. Delivery is planned for August and qualification expected in September by Transport Canada, according to Randy Gawenda, Frasca business development manager. In fact, Gawenda added, “It will be the first level 7 FTD in Canada.”
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