Discovery Air Defence Services and Arizona-based fight training firm Aviation Performance Solutions last week signed an agreement to provide high-performance Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT).
According to a news release, Discovery Air will integrate its A-4 Skyhawks with APS’ UPRT solutions to provide comprehensive loss of control in flight (LOC-I) training solutions for civilian jet pilots. Loss of control in flight is the leading cause of fatalities in business and commercial aviation, according to a 2014 report by the Commercial Aviation Safety Team.
APS’s Advanced Jet Pilot Integrated Upset Training program prepares pilots operating high-performance aircraft with the critical skills to prevent, and recover from, LOC-I conditions. The four-day training consists of app-based preparatory academics, instructor-led classroom instruction, four UPRT sessions in an aerobatic-certified Extra 300L aircraft, a two-hour session in an advanced multi-engine glass cockpit simulator, and a final flight on a DA Defence A-4 Skyhawk. The A-4 flight focuses on high-Mach, high-altitude UPRT to include high-altitude stalls.
This advanced course is part of the Leading Edge program, an initiative of Bombardier Business Aircraft’s renowned Safety Standdown program.
“DA Defence is the world’s leading commercial provider of military jet training services, and is well suited to support APS’s leadership in jet upset training with our unique assets,” said Paul Bouchard, president of DA Defence. “The use of high-performance all-attitude jet aircraft is unprecedented in upset prevention and recovery training for business and commercial aircraft today. Our A-4 Skyhawks allow pilots to train and safely investigate with confidence a wide variety of stall and upset recovery scenarios to prevent loss of control in-flight.”
“DA Defence is a global team of aviation experts focused on the leading advancements in aviation training and solutions,” said Paul Ransbury, president of APS. “It is an honour for APS to continue its high-altitude, high-Mach jet UPRT services with A-4 Skyhawks backed by DA Defence’s highest technical and airworthiness standards.”