Elite Simulation Solutions, with the support of its newly established representative office in Brazil, achieved an important sale in that country. The customer specifically sought out Elite because he knew of the company’s reputation for designing and manufacturing world-class flight simulators powered by standard PCs.

The customer is the recently established Global Aviation Academy based in Curitiba, Brazil, which will specialise in both helicopter flight training and the training of helicopter instructors.

The device supplied by Elite is an Evolution S623 helicopter simulator configured to replicate the Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil (Squirrel). It has been approved by the Brazilian ANAC as an advanced aviation training device (AATD).

The driving force behind the purchase is the rapidly expanding Brazilian oil industry, which needs helicopters to service its offshore oil rigs. The Global Aviation Academy intends to specialise in training helicopter pilots for offshore work.

The new S623 features an original Garmin GNS530 GPS, a four channel 55-inch LCD TV screen visual set up with separate chin bubble view, and Lockheed Martin P3D visual software featuring 3D depiction of over 22,000 airports worldwide.

João Fontana, Global Aviation Academy Director, said: “I have known Elite for many years and have been convinced about its high quality trainers, so I specifically sought them out.

“The high quality of the S623 has exceeded our expectations and training needs for new helicopter pilots, in IFR conditions, technology transition, CRM and pilot skills techniques and the improvement of crew performance in operational situations, combining simulated flight with real-world scenarios.

“All this has been possible thanks to the full and immediate support from the Elite team at all times, from initial contact to the follow up after the installation of the S623 at our school.”

The new Elite representative office in Salvador da Bahia has been set up to serve the whole of Latin and South America, a combined region where IAOPA has forecast a growing demand for both fixed-wing and rotary pilots – over 12,000 new ones in the next decade.