HATSOFF To Set Up Second Simulator Platform

The Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) is planning to set up a second simulator platform in Bangalore for training pilots for specific flying training like Eurocopter Dauphin or the Bell 412 or India’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv), Deccan Herald reported last week.

HATSOFF is a joint venture of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and CAE.

“The number of hours involved in pilot training is going up every year. Once we touch 4,500 hours of simulator training, we plan to set up a second training platform at our campus,” Captain N S Krishna, CEO HATSOFF was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"It was just 200 hours of training a year around 2010-11 but at present it is expected to reach 4,500 hours. Moreover, we have to look into a second facility to cope with it as the demand is high," Krishna said.

Hatsoff’s operations have been cleared by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and European Space Agency (ESA), A space agency clearing operations implies that the technology and the software being used by the simulator meet the requirements.

Hatsoff trains people who hold a basic licence in chopper flying as well as qualified pilots to hone their skills year after year. The basic licence can be procured from The HAL Rotary Wing Academy after six months of training.

He said the trained pilots then come to Hatsoff to learn higher level flying or conversion training, in which the pilots fly specific helicopters that are not the basic ones (like Schweizer 300C/Schweizer 330SP).