FLYING AT GROUND LEVEL

Two helicopter pilots, members of a local police unit, sit side by side, working the controls with great care. Behind them, a third officer watches for any signs of danger. The helicopter vibrates as it hovers, and the three officers scan the crowded city for any signs of danger.

This latest simulation for the French-German-Spanish conglomerate Eurocopter's AS350 police helicopter (marketed in the United States as AStar) was designed by Madrid-based Indra, an international leader in information technology and a key player in the world simulation market. (Eurocopter's Spanish headquarters, in Albacete, recently celebrated the maiden flight of one of the most advanced transport helicopters, the NH90 TTH tactical transport, for the Spanish government. The Albacete facility will continue with flight testing, and should deliver the NH90 TTH to the Spanish armed forces in 2012.)

Indra's helicopter simulator, among the most innovative world wide for single-engine helicopters, can seat three in its simulation dome. It includes 10 projectors that cover 220 degrees of vision, almost surrounding the pilots. Indra delivered the first system of this class to American Eurocopter, the company's United States arm, at its Dallas center in October 2010. By December 2010 the simulator had been qualified by the Federal Aviation Administration. The simulator has since been employed, to take one example, in support of training for police departments around the country.

"The simulator is used for several types of training," says Juan Felip, Indra's director of simulation. "It's used to learn to fly the helicopter itself, and for skills refreshment, and for learning emergency procedures." The addition of a third seat in the simulator offers the capability to train not just the pilots but a fully integrated mission of law enforcement or homeland security personnel, continues Felip, and is the first of its kind in the U.S.: "The shooter in the back uses a real gun that has been customized with a laser-pointing device. The simulator reproduces scenarios and situations the officers will have to face, and the instructor can evaluate their skills and capacities."

In addition to the standard day and night training, this is the first full-flight simulator qualified by the FAA that includes training simulations for pilots flying with night-vision goggles. The new simulator has attracted Eurocopter customers from around the U.S. and from abroad.

Inside one of the Indra's helicopter simulators in Dallas. Photo: Indra

FLYING AT GROUND LEVEL

Two helicopter pilots, members of a local police unit, sit side by side, working the controls with great care. Behind them, a third officer watches for any signs of danger. The helicopter vibrates as it hovers, and the three officers scan the crowded city for any signs of danger.

This latest simulation for the French-German-Spanish conglomerate Eurocopter's AS350 police helicopter (marketed in the United States as AStar) was designed by Madrid-based Indra, an international leader in information technology and a key player in the world simulation market. (Eurocopter's Spanish headquarters, in Albacete, recently celebrated the maiden flight of one of the most advanced transport helicopters, the NH90 TTH tactical transport, for the Spanish government. The Albacete facility will continue with flight testing, and should deliver the NH90 TTH to the Spanish armed forces in 2012.)

Indra's helicopter simulator, among the most innovative world wide for single-engine helicopters, can seat three in its simulation dome. It includes 10 projectors that cover 220 degrees of vision, almost surrounding the pilots. Indra delivered the first system of this class to American Eurocopter, the company's United States arm, at its Dallas center in October 2010. By December 2010 the simulator had been qualified by the Federal Aviation Administration. The simulator has since been employed, to take one example, in support of training for police departments around the country.

"The simulator is used for several types of training," says Juan Felip, Indra's director of simulation. "It's used to learn to fly the helicopter itself, and for skills refreshment, and for learning emergency procedures." The addition of a third seat in the simulator offers the capability to train not just the pilots but a fully integrated mission of law enforcement or homeland security personnel, continues Felip, and is the first of its kind in the U.S.: "The shooter in the back uses a real gun that has been customized with a laser-pointing device. The simulator reproduces scenarios and situations the officers will have to face, and the instructor can evaluate their skills and capacities."

In addition to the standard day and night training, this is the first full-flight simulator qualified by the FAA that includes training simulations for pilots flying with night-vision goggles. The new simulator has attracted Eurocopter customers from around the U.S. and from abroad.

Inside one of the Indra's helicopter simulators in Dallas. Photo: Indra