The University of South Australia will be able to offer multi-crew cooperation (MCC) pilot training courses with the acquisition of a new flight simulator, which was due to be delivered in December and be certified and ready for operations for the start of the new university year in 2018.
The university has chosen New Zealand-based Pacific Simulators to provide the flight training device (FTD), which is modelled on a Boeing 737 NG and features glass displays, flight management computers (FMCs), an autopilot flight director system (AFDS), TCAS and GPWS, with visuals displayed on a high-definition 180 degree wrap‐around curved screen.
The device, which features a database of more than 24,000 airports and cities, is compliant with CASA Part 61 regulations towards the gaining of an ATPL.
“We see great value in the MCC program and over the last two years we’ve obviously seen a growing demand for the course across the country as more and more new pilots require this qualification,” UniSA Head of Engineering Professor Duncan Campbell said in a statement.
The new simulator brings to four the number of MCC-approved Pacific Simulators devices in Australia, with Adelaide joining existing units in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
A fifth is expected to come online in Melbourne by the second quarter of 2018.
“This will complete our goal of providing nationwide coverage for pilots and airlines around Australia,” Pacific Simulators director of sales and marketing Iain Pero said.
Based in Christchurch, Pacific Simulators is better known for its Flight Experience chain where members of the public can experience airliner flight in a simulator.
However, the company has begun to focus on flight training, given the expected demand for pilots in response to the forecast growth in global air traffic.
Boeing’s 2017-2036 Pilot and Technician Outlook published in July forecast a need for 637,000 new commercial airline pilots around the world.
