Part of KF Support for Contracted Flying Training & Support Programme

KF Aerospace (formerly Kelowna Flightcraft) has won a contract valued at approximately C$6.5 millionto supply a Bell 206 Level 7 Flight Training Device (FTD) to the Canadian Contracted Flying Training & Support (CFTS) Programme in Southport, Manitoba. The contract is part of the company’s much larger scope of work to provide primary, basic, rotary-wing and multi-engine pilot training for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) at CFTS through 2027. KF subsidiary KF Aerospace Defence Programs is supported by a pan-Canadian team consisting of Bluedrop Training & Simulation, Canadian Helicopters (HNZ) Ltd., and Canadian Base Operators.

The FTD, built by Frasca International, will be the first of its specific configuration to enter service in Canada and will be ready for training in April 2018. It has a 220° field-of-view visual system and six degrees-of-freedom cueing and vibration systems. The device also incorporates Frasca’s SimAssist software, which provides varying levels of automatic instructor assistance during the earliest phases of helicopter flight training.

“This new capability will continue the CFTS programme’s status as a leader in supporting the RCAF simulation strategy. The FTD will provide the RCAF with the ability to decide what flight training regimes are best suited for simulation and which operations require an actual aircraft. This will ensure that RCAF aircrew receive the right training, to the right people, and at the right time,” Peter Fedak, KF’s Site Manager for the CFTS programme, commented.

The CFTS Programme trains 100% of candidates seeking to become Royal Canadian Air Force pilots and has a majority role in training 80% of new pilots inducted into the RCAF every year. KF Aerospace also provides the Lead-in Air Navigator Training Course to all potential Air Combat Systems Officers for the RCAF.

“In addition to enhancing our ability to train emergency and other procedures, the new simulator will yield cost benefits as it will eliminate the need to increase our flying fleet by four aircraft. The new FTD may also be adaptable to the future rotary wing training requirements of DND’s FAcT programme,” Tracy Medve, President of KF Aerospace, revealed, referring to the future aircrew training programme that may consolidate all current pilot training contracts – including CFTS – into a single integrated training pipeline.