Flight Training Centers Add Alsim Simulators

Just more than 24 years ago, airline pilot Jérôme Binachon and computer engineer Jean-Paul Monnin had an idea to develop a flight training device that unites different aircraft types in one simulator. That effort produced Alsim’s ALX simulator, and today as the company has evolved, their AL250 and AL172 simulators are being chosen by flight schools worldwide. Alsim has also developed a dedicated Diamond DA42 simulator as well as their Alsim Airliner, which is a hybrid design based on the Airbus A320/Boeing B737 flight decks.

Alsim’s AL250 simulator was chosen recently by Harford Air Services in Churchville, Maryland, after the company’s founder Kevin Hess saw and flew the simulator at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. “The AL250 will be a welcome new addition in our new hangar. With the real aircraft feel and actual Garmin avionics including a GTN650, it is easy to use and reliable. As an FAA-certified AATD, I know it will be a great lower-cost learning and training tool for all our students and instructors no matter their level of proficiency or number of hours flown,” Hess said. Harford Air is a FAA Part 141 flight school and a partner with the Community College of Baltimore County and is the only flight school in Harford County, Maryland.

Lanier Flight Center in Georgia chose Alsim’s AL172 MKII simulator to augment their fleet of Cessna 172 training aircraft as it is an exact replica of the Cessna 172 SP Skyhawk Nav III. Lanier’s AL172 features real Garmin G1000 NXi avionics and is equipped with the latest Alsim VFR Visual System (VFRVS). “Due to the VFRVS matched to the accurate force feedback,” Lanier stated, “our new AL250 provides students with the sense of motion in a fixed-base device. This immersion and depth perception allow the simulator to be used for basic private pilot, instrument instruction, and other flight training, cutting down time and costs required in an aircraft.” Lanier’s AL172 simulator was purchased with assistance from Sky Allies Capital, an Alsim partner based in Las Vegas that provides airplane, simulator and aviation equipment financing.

“We see the aviation world making a strong comeback post COVID-19,” said Troy Wheeler, president of Lanier. “Now appeared to be the perfect time to purchase a high-fidelity simulator that we can cement into our curriculum and enhance the training environment and experience.”

Speaking to the cost savings flight schools can offer students, Alsim’s North America Manager Scott Firsing said their simulators provide a significant cost savings when you factor in the expense of conducting the same training in actual aircraft. “Items like fuel and insurance costs, hard landings, 100-hour checks and other maintenance make training inherently expensive. Schools have to find effective and innovative ways to reduce costs while maintaining operational excellence. Even before COVID-19, but definitely now in mid-2020, flight school owners realize the arrival of technology such as new flight simulators will win tomorrow,” Firsing stated.