Apache / Aviation Training International

Westland Helicopters is an Agusta Westland company, which is owned by Finnmeccanica of Italy. AgustaWestland is one of the largest helicopter companies in the world, offering an unrivalled range of helicopters to meet the requirements of both civil and military customers, including, amongst its areas of expertise, advanced training for aircrew and ground crew. Claremont was approached by Westland Helicopters to provide a state-of-the-art integration of technology and system furniture to support the training of service crew for the new Apache helicopter on behalf of its part-owned subsidiary, Aviation Training International. Four remote locations were identified at Middle Wallop, Arborfield, Dishforth and Wattisham.

The Solution

Flat-screen technology, with each desk comprising three monitors, needed to be housed within the desk for security purposes; hydraulics were incorporated to raise the flat screens to operator height. The image on the monitors represented the view of the pilot from the assumed cockpit position, where the one cursor moves across all three screens. The access to the technology had to be controlled by the training instructor, and connected to a plasma screen at the front of the classroom where the images would be magnified for all to see.

The electronic classroom environment designed for Apache remains the benchmark by which all integrated training environments are based and judged. The project was completed ahead of schedule and provides the client with a true state-of-the-art environment that yields highly productive training for students.