Cargolux today announced that the world’s first Level D qualified full-flight Simulator (FFS) for the new Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft is ready for training at the company’s training center in Luxembourg. Built by Canada-based CAE, the FFS received Level D qualification from the ‘Direction de l’Aviation Civile’ (DAC), Luxembourg’s national aviation authority, after the successful evaluation by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA), the German counterpart of the DAC.

In addition to its 747-8 flight simulator, Cargolux also operates an FFS for the 747-400F, again built by CAE. This, second simulator is in operation since 2000 and, like the 747-8 FFS, is used for the training of Cargolux’s crews. Both are also available for crew training of third parties.

‘Adding the full Level D qualification for our 747-8F simulator gives a major boost to our training organization,’ says Richard Forson, Cargolux Interim-CEO. ‘Together with our proven 747-400F simulator, it provides us with a modern-technology, high-fidelity training environment. Our crews greatly benefit from the enhanced realism that CAE developed for the 747-8F simulator.’ The 747-8F simulator’s advanced visual system generates a highly detailed synthetic visual environment to train pilots under the most difficult flight conditions.

‘Operating the world’s first B747-8F Level D simulator is a milestone for Cargolux and enables us to set new benchmarks in crew training, both for our own crews and for our customers’ crews’, adds Marcel Funk, Vice-President and Head of Flight Operations at Cargolux.