The Army´s Aviation Academy Receives Under Secretary of Defence

Valcarce visits the facilities

Classroom at the Centre

The Under Secretary of Defense, María Amparo Valcarce, accompanied by Army Chief of Staff, General Francisco Javier Varela, visited the Army´s Aviation Academy (ACAVIET) in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid) on Friday, January 22.

On arrival, Valcarce was greeted by an honor guard of student sergeants from the 127th Helicopter Pilot Training Group, under command of a sergeant in helicopter mechanics. Immediately following, personnel from ACAVIET and the Army Chief of Staff presented an exhibition featuring the work of students and the capabilities of the Academy as a centre for learning and improvement.

Next, the group toured the main facilities, including the Simulation Centre and the Technical Maintenance Unit, which is responsible for performing mechanical and avionics repairs on all training helicopters. They also viewed an ongoing exhibit of the HE-26 Eco-Charlie helicopter and two Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), Raven and Searcher, since ACAVIET is also responsible for training pilots and operators on these systems. The visit ended in the historical room, where Colonel Castilla, Director of the Academy, presented the Under Secretary with a commemorative memento of the unit and thanked her for her visit.

ACAVIET, created in 2017, is the newest of the Army´s Academies and acts as a general and specific military training centre for both officers and non-commissioned officers in the Army Aviation Branch, which arose in 2016.

Although the development of the Academy is a consequence of the creation of this branch, its trajectory is based on Army training history as it has taken over the role of the Helicopter Teaching Centre, which had more than 50 years of experience. However, the name has been changed and training tasks have been expanded. Thanks to the experience and the accumulated work of its predecessor, ACAVIET allows for continued excellence in the comprehensive training of students through quality teaching and a high level of technical knowledge.

In addition to training specialists and pilots, ACAVIET is responsible for preparing RPAS operators and has an important array of simulators that helps accomplish this goal. By, integrating everything in the same centre, ACAVIET optimizes resource use and helps avoid personnel changes among facilities.

It is for these reasons that the Army´s Aviation Academy is a comprehensive training centre for Army pilots and specialists, both in helicopters and RPAS, whose added value is the efficient combination of human and material capabilities in a single centre, unlike other more dispersed areas.