Mechtronix Systems recently unveiled its “new generation” A320 FFS X full flight simulator that has been purchased by TACA and IFTC Istanbul (International Flight Training Center Istanbul), a subsidiary of Turkey’s Gozen Group and affiliate of Freebird Airlines.
Mechtronix President Xavier Herve described the unit as the first full flight simulator that uses ‘true simulation’ or ‘replication’ for the Airbus A320, meaning that it is powered by software, not by OEM avionics boxes and systems. “In the true simulation world, when a pilot hits a CDU, he touches a keyboard. In the back of that it’s all software,” he said.
This not only makes the simulator more affordable for smaller airlines to conduct training in-house, but it is more reliable to conventional simulators, Herve claimed. “You’ve got an environment now which by defi nition is going to be inherently more reliable. MTBF doesn’t exist in the software world.”
The A320 simulator will be operational and JAA-certifi ed by the third week of July. Gozen will use it for third-party training and also for training pilots at Freebird.