When a nation chooses a new helicopter, the ancillary support provided by the manufacturer is almost as important as the helicopter itself. In recent years, Leonardo Helicopters (LH) has invested heavily in a range of through life support and training packages, including synthetic systems, at its training academies at Yeovil, Somerset, UK, Sesto Calende, Italy, Philadelphia in the United States and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This investment includes extending its main training facilities at Sesto Calende with flight-crew simulators covering its full helicopter range, AW109 (Power, Nexus and LUH modules), AW139, AW169 and AW189, plus aft cabin crew trainers. Tailored to meet customer needs, these solutions range from the provision of spares, through to crew training and finally, a fully integrated turnkey support programme. Introducing new technologies creates new challenges for customers - building mission systems expertise and maintenance facilities, for example, and how to manage components made from composite materials. Customers increasingly rely on outside support, not only in the period immediately after the initial acquisition but throughout an aircraft's service life.
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