American Eurocopter LLC – Eurocopter’s US subsidiary in Dallas, Texas and Columbus, Mississippi – has a training center that welcomes more and more trainees each year.

In 2005, the American Eurocopter training center broke all the records. “We’ve never trained so many pilots and technicians in one year! In all, no less than 1,512 customers – including 961 pilots and 551 technicians – attended the American Eurocopter courses at Grand Prairie,” explains Del Livingston, the Flight Operations & Training Vice-President at American Eurocopter. Up by approximately 40% over 2004, this increase mainly concerns technicians and is due to the strong growth of the EMS sector in the United States. This growth has generated a heightened requirement for pilot and, above all, technician training on the EC135 and EC145, the leaders on this market segment. The figures speak louder than words: 3,831 flight hours were performed in 2005 for American pilots, and pilots from neighboring countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.

An Ever Expanding Activity
American Eurocopter provides type rating training on the EC120 B Colibri, EC135, EC145, AS350 B2 and B3 Ecureuil/AStar, EC130, AS365 Dauphin, EC155, Super Puma, and BK117/BO105. The subsidiary also offers recurrent training on the same aircraft for customers wishing to refresh themselves with the latest technological advances. Each of these types of training accounts for half the overall activity. Ten instructor pilots and six technical instructors assure the theoretical and practical courses on site. However, if required, the training can also be performed at the customer’s premises: last December, for example, around 100 pilots were trained in Hawaii. American Eurocopter also provides training in the use of mission equipment such as night vision goggles, and the performance of emergency procedures at night. These courses are approved by the FAA.

“Our activity is really taking off and we plan to build a new 950 m2 building in 2006,” continues Mr. Livingston. “This extension of our training center, which will be inaugurated at the end of the year, will increase our trainee capacity and improve the satisfaction of our customers. What’s more, we are going to introduce a flight simulator for the EC135 and AS350 B3 Ecureuil/AStar. For the LUH program, we already have all the means available (aircraft, pilots, etc.) to start training the US Army pilots and technicians, if the UH145 is selected.”