A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Illinois-based aircraft training device manufacturer Frasca International, Inc. (Booth H304) announced here at ABACE 2014 it has just completed factory acceptance by the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) of a Citation CJ1+ Level D full flight simulator (FFS) purchased by Nanshan Flight Academy in Shandong. 
“Factory acceptance per CAAC guidelines is like certifying an airplane,” said Niu Tao, Frasca’s Beijing-based Chief Representative in China. “The requirements for the simulator are very stringent.”
Installation of the device is scheduled to begin in June. The device will be the only CJ1+ Level D simulator in China. Level D simulators, the highest level of FSS currently available, allow pilot trainees to qualify for type certification with minimum actual flight time. Nanshan purchased the simulator early last year. Price of the device, which includes training, spare parts and other support, is just under $10 million.
“People are starting to recognize the value of the investment [in flight simulators],” said Tao. “Simulators don’t burn fuel, don’t need approval for airspace, and there’s a huge risk reduction, as well.” 
Tao said Frasca has also just finalized the sale to a Chinese customer of a dual-qualified, CAAC-approved Level Five flight-training device (FTD) configured to replicate a Robinson R44 and Sikorsky/Schweizer S-300 helicopter. It will be Frasca’s first dual helicopter simulator in China, and the first dual-qualified R-44/S-300 simulator in the Republic. Tao declined to name the customer pending official announcement of the sale. “Just call it a very prestigious helicopter training center in China,” he said.
Tao noted that Frasca has been in China since 1998, and its affiliate office in Beijing is staffed with factory trained engineers and technicians who assist with certification and installation of the company’s simulators, and provide depot level maintenance and warranty support.

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