Frasca International sells Airbus H125 helicopter flight simulator to Aero Asahi Corporation

Frasca International has sold a Level 5 Flight Training Device (FTD) for the Airbus H125 AStar (350B3) single-engine helicopter to Aero Asahi Corporation (AAC), Japan’s leading civil helicopter company.

The new Frasca Level 5 FTD will be used by Aero Asahi for H125 pilot training as well as to provide operational training for offshore, emergency medical service (EMS), search and rescue (SAR) and electric power line patrol missions.

“The number one priority for AAC’s Aviation business is to ensure the highest levels of safety possible in all of its operations,” says Toshinori Ogure, President and CEO, Aero Asahi Corp.

Founded in 1955, Aero Asahi is a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Corporation and operates a fleet of 80 single- and twin-engine helicopters from its headquarters at the Tokyo Heliport and bases throughout Japan.

”This Airbus H125 simulator will be a valuable training device for ab-initio helicopter pilot training up through commercial transition and recurrent training,” said John Frasca, president of Frasca International. “It will feature a custom visual database for Tokyo Heliport (RJTI) as well as our popular Helicopter Mission Training Database.”

Aero Asahi employs 125 helicopter pilots and many will log some training hours in the H125 flight simulator during the course of a year.

The Aero Asahi simulator will be equipped with a Frasca TruVision™ Global visual system with a large spherical 220° horizontal and 58° vertical field of view and a Frasca Simplicity™ Instructor Operator Station (IOS).

“We are confident that Frasca’s high fidelity visual system and scenery database will provide our pilots with superior training,” adds Aero Asahi. The FTD will be used for VFR and IFR training and for practicing both normal and emergency operations and procedures.

The Helicopter Mission Training Database will allow Aero Asahi pilots to practice flying in all kinds of weather conditions and train for missions that require landings in confined areas and on elevated and rooftop helipads. Other mission-specific training scenarios include EMS accident scene orbits, evaluations and landings, and offshore ship deck and oilrig approaches and landings.

The Level 5 FTD is scheduled to be installed at the Aero Asahi training center in Tokyo in October 2017 with certification by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau to follow after.

Frasca has a long history of providing helicopter FTDs and Full Flight Simulators to helicopter operators throughout the world. Customers include: Bristow Group, HNZ Canadian Helicopters, Era Helicopters, TKK, the Royal Canadian Air Force,the German Federal Police, Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), New York Police Department - Aviation Unit, Japanese Coast Guard and the US Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI).