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Mechtronix and Susi Air to develop Grand Caravan simulator

Known as the second largest operator of Cessna Caravan in the world with a fleet of 30+ aircraft, Susi Air will significantly improve their flight training capabilities by transferring courses from the actual aircraft to the simulator and reduce training costs by training their pilots at their base of operations. The brand new simulator will be installed at their flight training facilities in Pangandaran in the fourth quarter of 2011; it will be built in compliance with JAR-FSTD A FTD Level 2 and FNPT II MCC standards. Additionally, Susi Air Training Center will be equipped with an Ascent® Flight Trainer™ C172 Garmin 1000.

"We were keen on freeing the two aircraft dedicated to training and offering top-quality training equipment to our pilots, especially as it will be our first simulator; integrating this simulator in our flight training program has become a necessity to support our 30+ fleet of Grand Caravan," explained Susi Pudjiastuti, Susi Air founder and CEO. "Moreover, this will be the first simulator representing this type of aircraft in Asia-Pac; since our training center is open to others, we trust we will be able to address the Caravan training requirements in the region."

COO Christian von Strombeck added: "Mechtronix is the only simulator manufacturer to offer the FFT X™ concept and train@home business model which perfectly fit into our requirements. They carefully listened to us from sales to engineering all along the discussion process. We have many operational constraints such as a mountainous landscape, tropical weather and simple land strips and Mechtronix took those into account in the specification of the FSTD. With our new simulator, Susi Air's pilots will be able to practice all malfunctions and be better prepared for difficult landings which are frequent in the region for the above-mentioned reasons."

"The FFT X™ is one of the reasons why Mechtronix is today a world leader in the delivery of innovative flight simulation and airline operations solutions to the aviation industry; airlines willing to train at home that do not have the financial resources to invest in a FFS have welcomed this business model as it enables them to train in a high fidelity environment at reasonable costs," added Mechtronix Systems President Hervé. "This is the first FFT X™ to replicate the Cessna Grand Caravan, it will grow the list of aircraft families for which the FFT X is already available: Airbus 320, B737NG and ATR -500 & -600 series. Despite the economic downturn, the South East Asia Pacific region remains active and dynamic and we are delighted to add Indonesia as a country with Mechtronix simulators in operation."

The FFT X™ replicates the Cessna Grand Caravan 208 flight deck and shows FFS-like quality and fidelity, featuring a new generation 3-DOF seat-based motion cueing system, high-end sound simulation system and an FFS Instructor Operating Station tower. The highly-flexible device is equipped with a 3 channel 200×40° collimated cross cockpit viewing display system providing astounding FFS-like visual fidelity. The FFT X™ provides the ideal training environment for this class of aircraft both in terms of technology and affordability; the FFT X represents a smart alternative to high investment costs full motion simulators and is easy to deploy and operate.