A new Flight Academy takes off

It joins the Infantry, Cavalry, Artilley, Engineering and Logistics Academies as a centre for both general and specific military training for Army officers and NCOs. It is in charge of training in the Army Aviation Fundamental Specialty (EFUN), conceived in 2016.

In fact, its implementation is a necessary consequence of the creation of this new specialty. Just like the others, that have their own military training centre, this was also necesary for the air-related disciplines. It became even more necessary, given the high degree of complexity of the current air systems, and the increasing use of helicopters in operations, that demands specific training in techniques and procedures. 'What we teach here aims at responding to the Army needs', claims its first director, Colonel Fuentes. For him, leading the new Academy is a dream he never though he would achieve back in the days when he was a lieutenant coming from Zaragoza, when he first set foot on the 'Coronel Maté' base in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid) to become a pilot.

The Academy as such is brand new, but it is created after the Helicopter's Teaching Centre changed its name. Not only the name has changed, but also its training purposes and the knowledge that is taught. Nevertheless, all the work and experience amassed in the previous stage are key for the success of this new project. Lieutenant Colonel Padilla, chief of the Flight Training Department acknowledges it, and assures that the the greatest challenge of this change is going to be that 'on paper', since 'the courses and their structure are consolidated'. 'It is their format what we must change, adapting it to the schedule indicated by the study plan, as well as incorporating all the new elements that may arise'.

EXCEPTIONAL LOCATION

The Academy is in the same location where the Helicopter's Teaching Centre was—the Colmenar Viejo base (Madrid). The fact of being located inside a base and sharing room with other Force units is quite unusual. In this case, one of these units is the Army Aeromobile Forces Headquarters or the 5th Transport Helicopter Battalion, so peaceful coexistence among them is not hard to imagine. What makes it different from the rest is that the director is not the chief of the base, and the Unit of Services in the base is not a part of ACAVIET.

The centre has three headquarters—the central one is in Colmenar Viejo, with the simulators and trainers of all the helicopters models, except from that of the Tiger—located in Almagro—and that of the NH-90—that will soon arrive at the Agoncillo base in La Rioja. At present, Indra— the manufacturing company of the simulators—seeks to improve the systems' interoperability. Connecting the three bases, allowing the helicopters to fly together in one session, would be another step forward for a centre which is already a pioneer. As explained by its director—lieutenant colonel Fernández—the simulation centre is 'at the top of the technological league, both at a military and at a civilian level, and is comparable to the best ones in the world'.