HATSOFF Announces New Chief Executive

The Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF), the joint venture owned equally by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and CAE, today announced the appointment of Major General (Ret'd) Ajit Hari Gadre as Chief Executive Officer of HATSOFF. Major General (Ret'd) Ajit Hari Gadre, said, “I am pleased to join an organization established by HAL and CAE, two of the world's leading and most reputable aerospace and defence companies. He added, "since its opening in 2010, HATSOFF has set the standard in India for advanced helicopter simulator training, and I am convinced that simulation-based training will continue to grow and prove to be one of the best approaches for improving safety, operational efficiency and mission readiness". An accomplished helicopter pilot, General Gadre retired in June 2009 as the Additional Director General of Army Aviation, after spending 37 years with Indian Army as a commissioned officer. Located near HAL’s multiple complexes adjacent to HAL Airport in Bangalore, India HATSOFF offers training on the Bell 412, Eurocopter Dauphin, and the civil/conventional variant of the HAL Dhruv helicopters. HATSOFF uses a CAE-built full-mission simulator "mothership" that features CAE's revolutionary roll-on/roll-off cockpit design, which enables cockpits representing various helicopter types to be used in the full-mission simulator.