The Daytona Beach, Fla., campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has acquired a Level D full-motion simulator from FlightSafety International. The simulator will be used to train students to prepare for the airline transport pilot certificate.
Congress in 2010 passed Public Law 111-216 requiring the FAA to revise training requirements in response to the Feb. 12, 2009, crash of a Colgan Air DHC-8 outside of Buffalo, N.Y. The FAA has proposed requiring airline first officers (who may currently qualify with a commercial pilot certificate) to hold ATPs. In effect, the rule would increase from 250 to 1,500 hours the minimum requirement to serve as a Part 121 first officer. Part 121 pilots must currently hold an ATP certificate to serve as captain.
The rules include an exemption for students enrolled at aerospace degree-granting universities such as Embry-Riddle, requiring 1,000 flight hours to qualify for the ATP. Embry-Riddle said it has created a special course that utilizes Level D flight simulators to help prepare for the ATP checkride.
Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Ariz., campus also utilizes full-motion simulators, in which students train alongside airline crews through a partnership with CAE’s Phoenix-based pilot training center.
Jill W. Tallman
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