Eurocopter has made concrete efforts to bolster its training offer worldwide—both in terms of quality and quantity— illustrating the importance the Group places on training, flight safety and listening to its customers.

In October, 2008, the first NH90 mission simulator was accepted by the customer and entered service right on schedule in Bückeburg. This delivery marked a decisive new phase for the largest military helicopter program launched to date in Europe. The simulator is part of the contract signed in 2004 between BWB(1) and HFTS GmbH(2) for four NH90 flight simulators. Robert Hollensteiner, Managing Director of HFTS GmbH, spoke about the contract: “As part of our Public-Private Partnership, BWB has agreed to acquire a specified number of training hours over a period of fourteen-and-a-half years. In exchange, the industrial partners are responsible for the development, manufacturing and operating costs of the simulators.” Along with their German counterparts, the armed forces of Finland and Sweden have also acquired training hours. The three remaining simulators are scheduled to enter service this year.
The bases in Fassberg and Holzdorf will each receive a simulator for training that is specifically adapted to the helicopter configurations that will be operated there. Bückeburg will also receive a second simulator to perform training for the NH90 type certification. The customers have already expressed their satisfaction with the new training tool. The simulators provide extremely realistic flight and tactical training (in which the helicopter is flown in specific mission conditions), allowing the trainee to learn to fly in operating conditions that are very close to reality. Mr. Hollensteiner summed up the advantages of the simulators: “Approximately 60% of the NH90 training is conducted with the flight simulator, and only 40% in actual flight, which helps reduce costs, equipment wear and even the environmental footprint.”