Leonardo has officially opened its new, state-of-the-art Helicopter Training Academy in Philadelphia on schedule, two years after it announced its intention at the 2019 Heli-Expo in Atlanta.

The Academy, which is located on its existing campus in northeast Philadelphia,  is part of an US$80 million investment in U.S. operations that will provide training services for pilots, cabin crews, and maintenance technicians across the Americas. The Training Academy in the U.S., which  will mirror the services provided by its sister facility in Sesto-Calende (Italy) offering ground, air and virtual training, will also have simulator capabilities jointly developed by Leonardo and CAE and operated by their Rotorsim JV.

The academy features training services for the AW119, AW169, AW139 models and will also be home to the training services for global customers of the world’s first tiltrotor set to receive civil certification, the AW609. The academy strengthens the role of Leonardo as the only helicopter OEM that has the capability to design, develop, deliver, qualify, support and operate the fullest range of training systems, with certified OEM-data into the simulated environment.

“In our sector, only organizations with a clear vision, strategy and consistency in execution can aim for a sustainable long-term business and become strategic assets for their countries,” said Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo CEO. “We want to be regarded as a partner, not just a supplier, by continuing to ensure an outstanding service and training experience. And we integrate these capabilities into our unique helicopter offer with the ambition of becoming the world leader in the sector. Advanced simulation, augmented reality, artificial intelligence – all embedded today in our US Academy – are examples of this vision.”

“Our new U.S. training academy will help to serve the largest market for helicopters in the global industry, and will be part of a continued process to guarantee customer proximity and expand our range of offer,” said Gian Piero Cutillo, Leonardo Helicopters MD.

“We purposely co-located the academy next to our main production, support, and administrative offices because we wanted to not only provide cutting-edge training with modern technology to our customers, but also give them an inside view of our organization, our culture, and how our product is made and maintained with a constant emphasis on quality and safety,” said Bill Hunt, CEO of AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation and managing director of Leonardo Helicopters U.S.