Before my taster session in the simulator, Domenic Di Iorio, global head of Training, captain and instructor Phenom 300 Flight Operations, CAE made the introductions. Installed in February and welcoming its first trainee pilots in March, the full flight simulator is the ninth Phenom 300 installation operated by Embraer and CAE as part of their joint venture Embraer-CAE Training Services (ECTS) launched last year.

The new simulator – Number 9 – is the second in Europe and follows the installation of other Phenom 300 simulators in Dallas, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada. The Burgess Hill simulator is the second to last in a line of eight full flight simulators at the facility. (Elsewhere in the building is another line of eight simulators dedicated to a range of different aircraft types). There are two Phenom 300 sims in the Burgess Hill facility.

FAA authorisation

The simulator is certified by three authorities: the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Federation Aviation Administration (FAA) authorisation is expected on the Burgess Hill simulator within the next year.

Corporate and owner pilots undertaking initial training on the Phenom 300 will follow an approved training curriculum for issue of a type rating, as required by regulators and operators. Initial training can be from 40 to 100 hours ground training, with a combination of classroom and online training. That’s typically followed by 16 hours as pilot flying (PF) and then 16 hours as pilot not flying (PNF). The Phenom 300 simulator is used for used for both initial and recurrent training.

The flight simulator uses approved aircraft flight data and must meet regulatory requirements with an initial simulator qualification followed by yearly simulator requalification. It’s housed in a fully articulated space accommodating a cockpit, behind which is a flight control consol and additional seating for two trainee pilots.

So how realistic is the simulator? LaRosa who filmed 800 hours of aerial footage for the two-hour movie should know. The aerial sequences were filmed from a converted Phenom 300 camera ship with a gimbal-mounted film camera on the nose and a still camera aft of the cockpit. The aircraft is owned by LaRosa’s friend and business partner Jonathan Spano. (Incidentally, LaRosa is the only non-military pilot to be cleared for a 240-knot (276 mph) flyby over the deck of the Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered super carrier US Theodore Roosevelt, as part of the movie filming).

‘An almost perfect match’

“The Phenom 300 simulator is an almost perfect match for the real aircraft,” LaRosa told CJI. “While the visuals are not perfect, they are amazing. The movement of the simulator is very accurate.”

He’s equally impressed by the Phenom 300 aircraft. “It’s a super capable aircraft – and like any aircraft it’s really all about the training,” adds LaRosa. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535E engines, the Embraer jet is rated for single pilot operations and can carry up to 10 passengers. It has a maximum speed of 533mph and a maximum range (with four passengers) of 2,010 nautical miles. About 700 are in operation worldwide.

Back in the simulator, I’m working hard. LaRosa let me follow him on the controls as we took smoothly off. He then turns the aircraft over to me for some gentle climbing turns to the left before descending to trace the course of a valley floor.

Sitting behind us in the simulator is Di Iorio – a 40-year-plus veteran of CAE with more than 1,000 hours on type in his logbooks. Today, he is playing the role of Air Traffic Control giving us clearances. In addition to his own currency training on the simulator, Di Iorio also acts as both an instructor and examiner on type.

Engine fire

Towards the end of our ‘flight’ back to the ‘airfield’, he slips seamlessly into the role of tormentor-in-chief. Without warning, he randomly announces the discovery of an engine fire in our port engine.

LaRosa immediately takes control and starts the word-perfect emergency engine drills. Right engine shut down and ignite fire extinguisher, single-engine operating speed and configuration together with emergency radio calls before touch down. It all goes flawlessly. But the full flight simulator is so realistic, and I’m so invested in the simulated emergency, I couldn’t dispel that haunting feeling of queasiness.

If you enjoyed reading about this taster flight simulator session, buckle up for a ride in the real Phenom 300 camera ship that LaRosa used to film the aerial sequences in the latest Top Gun movie. Published in Corporate Jet Investor Quarterly, we ride with LaRosa as he recalls how the camera ship was born and the challenges of filming a Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from a business jet.

The CAE Phenom 300 simulator is located at CAE’s Burgess Hill facility, West Sussex, UK.

The post CAE puts new Phenom 300 simulator to work at Burgess Hill, UK appeared first on Corporate Jet Investor.

“We plan to add a Challenger 3500 and Phenom FFS in Vienna to address the high demand in Europe for pilots rated on these aircraft,” said Alexandre Prévost, CAE’s division president, Business Aviation. “We are seeing great interest for Bombardier Global 6000 Vision and 7500 training, and the Global 7500 full-flight simulator will be the first one in Europe providing access to training for this state-of-the-art aircraft,” he added.

The Phenom simulator destined for Vienna is part of a joint venture between CAE and Embraer, called Embraer CAE Training Services. This includes seven Phenom FFS, the latest of which started operation at CAE Burgess Hill, UK in March.

CAE will also be offer maintenance training at the facility in Vienna, Austria, which is due to open in the second quarter of 2025. The new training centre is designed to add capacity and complement the pilot and maintenance technician training delivered at CAE Burgess Hill. Like other CAE training facilities worldwide, the Vienna centre will offer all phases of classroom and simulator training for established pilots to earn their type-rating and complete recurrent training for differing authorities. The company’s maintenance technician training is offered on aircraft from OEMs including Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, Gulfstream and others.

Meanwhile, more than 8,000 business aviation pilots and 10,000 private jet maintenance technicians will need to be recruited and trained in Europe by 2032, according to the company’s 2023 Aviation Talent Forecast. CAE’s European growth plans are designed to address the increased demand for skilled aviation professionals.

Worldwide, CAE forecasts 18% growth in the global business aviation fleet between 2023 and 2032, with up to 26,000 business jets in service. This is expected to fuel the need for more than 100,000 new business aviation recruits. “With retirements and attrition, coupled with the industry’s growth, the need to train business aviation professionals effectively and quickly is real,” said the company.

Over the past 13 months, for business aviation training, the company has inaugurated its first North American West Coast training centre in Las Vegas, Nevada, opened a new training centre in Savannah, Georgia, and broken ground on the new Vienna training centre.

The post CAE to install two new flight training simulators in Vienna appeared first on Corporate Jet Investor.