The first A400M Flat Panel Flight Training Device designed and built by Thales for Airbus Military has been contributing to the training of air crews at the Airbus Military International Training Centre in Seville since October.

The training device allows air crews to familiarize themselves with the A400M cockpit environment and with the aircraft systems’ functionalities and procedures, as well as flight laws. It represents the aircraft cockpit using a combination of simulated or actual aircraft hardware with high-quality interactive graphical panels displayed on LCD touch screens.

The Flat Panel Flight Training Device provides procedural training to flight crews as part of type certification, tactical training and mission rehearsal, during which the trainee is briefed about normal and abnormal procedures under a step-by-step flow, before carrying out the procedure in the real cockpit environment.

The device is particularly useful for instructional use as it provides over-the-shoulder training in a classroom-style environment. Its layout makes it easy for an instructor to physically demonstrate or identify equipment or operator issues. Training can be self-driven by the student and lesson support material can be displayed on dedicated screens.

Thales has also designed and built an A400M Full Flight Simulator (FFS) for Airbus Military which received qualification for training in June 2013.

Thales is also manufacturing 3 further Full Flight Simulators for delivery to France, Germany and the UK MoD and a second FPT for delivery to Germany.

Through a joint venture with Airbus Military, Thales has also been selected by the UK MoD for the provision of its through life support training service, which includes the design, construction and management of the A400M training school, the installation and maintenance of full flight simulators and all synthetic training equipment, and support to the RAF’s own course design team and training staff.

The training school is being built at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, with work planned to complete in spring 2014. The school will train a range of aircrew and ground crew in the operation and maintenance of the RAF’s 22 A400M Atlas aircrafts.

Thales is a long-standing Airbus partner: Thales is also the main supplier of the A400M’s Cockpit Display Systems (CDS). Its technology can also be found throughout the aircraft’s avionics system, covering navigation, flight controls, electrical systems and utilities such as door management systems.

The A400M is an all-new military airlifter designed to meet the needs of the world’s armed forces in the 21st century. The French Air Force took delivery of its first A400M on 1 August 2013.