Air formation is equipped with new Airbus simulators to train drivers and mechanics

"Imaginez, une porte est bloquée sur un avion et l'équipage ne peut pas évacuer les passagers. Comment faire?", lance Laurent Vallier. Après vingt années passées comme mécanicien navigant dans l'armée de l'air, il a fondé en 2001 à Blagnac, près de Toulouse, le centre Air Formation qui a vu passer depuis près de 200.000 stagiaires. Des mécaniciens, des pilotes, des hôtesses de l'air et stewards mais aussi des techniciens de maintenance dans l'industrie qui doivent régulièrement rafraîchir leurs connaissances théoriques et techniques sur les avions.

For its twenty years, Air Formation has signed a contract with Airbus Training Center which provides, for at least seven years, nine simulators and an A350 slide.The center has invested one million euros to acquire this equipment and 140,000 euros for the development of premises.The company's hangar must have been completely redesigned to accommodate the doors simulators of the different Airbus range planes (A380, A350, A321, etc.).Trainees can train there, for example, to open the emergency exits in the event of evacuation.

Air Formation has acquired door simulators from the different aircraft range from the Airbus from the Airbus to the Airbus of the Aircraftsman (Credits: Florine Galéron).

Prepare the crews for extreme situations

It is also possible on each simulator to trigger emergency cases: door that blocks, pressurization problem, etc.Behind the porthole, a fictitious landscape is sometimes displayed as flames near the plane.

A350 slide used for the training of sailing personnel (credits: Florine Galéron).

Air Formation has already had the only simulator in Europe for several years bringing together cockpit, fire cabin and cabin plunged into smoke.Another cabin teaches navigating staff to face a violent passenger, to manage a package of dangerous goods, etc.A boned A340 cabin also allows mechanics to study the hydraulic circuits of the device.

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A boneless A340 cabin is made available to trainees (credits: Florine Galéron).

17,000 trainees per year

"Until now, we mainly have generic simulators capable of adapting to any type of plane. With these new simulators, we specialize in the Airbus range," added the Air Formation founder.

The center welcomes 17,000 trainees per year."40% of them come from industrialists like Airbus, Safran, Thales, Collins, etc. These are operators of editors, maintenance technicians. Then, 25% are aircraft mechanics that we form on threeSites: Blagnac, Nouméa and Tahiti. We have about 20% of our customers which is made up of crews (pilots, PNC) ", describes Laurent Vallier.

Laurent Vallier, founder of Air Formation (credits: Florine Galéron).

Today Air Training works with around fifty airlines: Volotea, French Bee, Corsair, Jetfly, etc.The partnership with Airbus allows it to attract new trainees."When Airbus sells an airplane, the formation of a defined number of pilots and instructors is offered. As soon as the planes are delivered, you have to trigger the training and this is where we intervene," he adds.

Despite the air transport crisis, Air Training intends to find this year its level of avant-crise activity this year (with a turnover of 2.5 million euros).The center has notably deployed videoconferencing capacities (which represents 30% of the training followed).The company, which has a workforce of 20 people, is currently recruiting instructing pilots.