The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) installed an Elite PI-1000 flight training simulator in August at its Air Wing Base. The RBDF commander, Commodore Floyd Moxey, visited the base in September to try out the simulator and get a briefing on what it means for Air Wing personnel.
The Elite PI-1000, featuring Elite Simulation Solutions’ replica G1000 avionics platform, is an advanced aviation training device approved by the United States Federal Aviation Administration and designed to replicate the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit environment. Its dual-screen replica layout, with emergency instruments and a simulated Garmin GFC 700 autopilot, provides training with an extremely high level of accuracy, realism and precision.
The “platform was selected to support the RBDF’s ongoing efforts to enhance training quality and provide crews with a highly realistic and flexible environment for procedural instruction, instrument flight training, avionics familiarization, navigation exercises, and operational decision-making,” an Elite news release said. The company headquarters is in Switzerland, and its U.S. operations are based in Oviedo, Florida.
One of the system’s primary strengths is its convertible aircraft platform, allowing operators to switch instantly between single-engine piston and multi-engine piston flight environments. The PI-1000 can simulate popular training models like the Cessna 172/182, the Diamond DA40/DA42 and the Beechcraft Baron, all supported by professional flight controls and an instructor station for weather control and system failures. The PI-1000 uses the Lockheed Martin P3D Image Generator for a visually stunning and realistic simulated environment.
The PI-1000 offers a cost-effective and practical platform for logging creditable flight hours toward pilot certificates and ratings. Student pilots can log up to 2½ hours toward a private pilot license, up to 20 hours toward an instrument rating, and up to 50 hours toward a commercial pilot license.
It also can help pilots meet legal requirements to fly in low-visibility weather using only their dashboard instruments, practice checklist procedures, and execute emergency scenario training without the cost of operating an actual aircraft. An RBDF Facebook post notes that the simulator is “designed to complement, not replace, primary, initial, or recurrent training requirements.”
“In today’s uncertain operational environment, high-quality simulation has become an essential component of pilot preparedness and operational efficiency,” René Huddlestone, director of marketing and sales at Elite, said in a company news release. “Our goal is to provide organizations such as the RBDF with reliable, immersive, and scalable training solutions that support both current and future operational needs.”
The RBDF Air Wing, established in 1981 and based at Windsor Field in Nassau, provides aviation support across The Bahamas, including surveillance, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and personnel and cargo transport. Senior Commander Reno Major is the Air Wing Department’s commanding officer.
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in March, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, discussed the RBDF’s importance in the war against drugs. “The Royal Bahamian Defence Force remains a valued USNORTHCOM partner in regional defense,” he testified. “The RBDF’s contributions to maritime security and counternarcotics efforts in the approaches to the homeland have been critical to shared success.”