For the May issue of Flying, Executive Editor Pia Bergqvist traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina, to visit FlightSafety International's HondaJet training facility. It was there that she took on the HA-420, one of FlightSafety's most recently launched type-rating programs, to see what the course would be like for a customer who had no previous type ratings.
In the classroom, she joined five other students, and the range of experience was broad. But that proved beneficial to the overall training experience, because even the pilot with 11 type ratings and a 50-hour head start in HondaJet flight had questions and tips that helped his classmates.
There's plenty to read from Pia's experience with FlightSafety International's HondaJet training program in Flying's May issue, but check out some of the photos from her class below.
FlightSafety's operational day flow method puts the students right into the cockpit from day one in the classroom.Jon Whittle
The quick reference handbook Normal Procedures provides critical performance data and V-speeds.Jon Whittle
FlightSafety's HondaJet instructor Andrew Forgacs conducts a briefing before a flight in the level-D HA-420 simulator.Jon Whittle
Buttons, switches, knobs and levers in the graphical flight-deck simulator are moved by touch.Jon Whittle
While the GFS is made of large touchscreens, all components are to scale.Jon Whittle
Flying the full-motion simulator is realistic enough that no time is required in the airplane before becoming a type-rated HondaJet single-pilot PIC.Jon Whittle
While the HA-420 is highly automated, the use of checklists is critical in an airplane as fast and complex as this.Jon Whittle
During the flight training and the check ride for any jet type rating, emergency situations with flashing lights and CAS messages become the norm. This is the simulated profile for the emergency descent mode. Should the cabin pressure rise above 10,000 feet, the autopilot automatically turns left and begins a rapid descent by targeting Vmo.Jon Whittle
