Avincis plans new European training center

Avincis said the facility would provide training in support of its plans for expansion, and would also be available for use by third-party partners.

The company said that it was currently looking for a suitable site in a location that is “both accessible and in the right environment for a wide range of training disciplines”.

Once completed, the training center will offer both “live and synthetic training for pilots, technical, and medical crews, as well as rescue teams” in a range of fields.

These will include:

• Helicopter underwater escape training (HUET)
• Sea and mountain/cold weather survival training
• Medical personnel training for air ambulance and search and rescue (SAR)
• Mountain flying operations training
• Emergency personnel mountain rescue training
• Pilot, crew, and medical personnel night vision goggles (NVG) training
• Wind farm hoist rescue training
• Ski cable car hoist rescue training.

The facility will also feature a range of training devices, including multiple Level D flight simulators, virtual reality winching devices, and rescue hoist simulators.

“Our people face challenging and complex situations every single day – it is our job to make sure they are properly trained to the highest safety standards, so they are always able to perform at their best,” said John Boag, Group CEO of Avincis. “This facility will support us, to support them, as they focus on saving lives and protecting communities every time they are deployed on a mission.”

The Spanish government recently extended its maritime SAR partnership with Avincis for a further five years.