Rotorcraft Report: Frasca to Supply FTDs for Iraqi Pilot Training

TRAINING/SIMULATORS

Frasca International will supply Bell Helicopter 206 and UH-1 flight training devices to help the U.S. Army train Iraqi air force pilots.

Under a foreign military sales contract with the Army’s simulation, training, and instrumentation office, Frasca will provide two 206 and two Huey devices, as well as three for the Cessna Aircraft 172 and two for the Cessna Caravan. Training will take place in Iraq. The devices have not been shipped.

The request for the trainers was made 3-4 months ago. The 206 trainers are to be shipped this month. Frasca did not anticipate the need for a UH-1H trainer and subsequently there is a 9-12 month backlog. Shipment will not occur until May 2008.

All nine will use Frasca’s TruVision 220 visual display system. Both helicopters have a fiberglass cockpit and a computer-generated instrument LCD display, requiring less maintenance. The devices will be used for a large part of the instruction and will precede the arrival of training aircraft in Iraq.