ELITE Simulation Solutions, high-flying simulators

Elite, provider of certified flight simulators since 1987.

ELITE (Electronic IFR Training Environment) Simulation Solutions is a Swiss company producing EASA and FAA certified flight simulators since 1987. No less than 51 countries are equipped with them. We went to meet René Huddleston, Marketing and Sales Director at ELITE Simulation Solutions, to talk about their new products.

Can you introduce ELITE in a few words?

ELITE Simulation Solutions was founded in 1987 near Zurich, Switzerland, and specializes in the production of flight simulators certified by EASA, FAA, CASA and DGCA (European, American, Australian and Indian aviation safety authorities respectively). We are one of the oldest companies in the field and have extensive expertise in the field of flight simulation. We have sold over 450 certified flight simulators in 51 countries. We also have a subsidiary in the USA, not far from Orlando, Florida, and resellers in a dozen countries including Australia, the UK and India.

What is the difference between ELITE flight simulators and those of the competition?

In addition to the Swiss quality that makes our simulators last, we systematically design our simulators to be the best value for money compared to the competition. We know that the simulator must provide a high level of realism, both in the flight model and the materials, and we always keep in mind the ROI (Return On Investment) for our customers. In addition, we guarantee to obtain FAA or FNPT II MCC certification for all of them. If the certification is not obtained, we give them a full refund. This has never happened since 1987, a testament to our expertise in the field.

Another notable difference is that we have the broadest product line in the industry, from our ELITE XTS software for home use, featuring our ultra-realistic flight models, to FTD Level 2 - the highest level of certification possible for fixed-base simulators - to FNPT II (MCC) C172, SR22, King Air B200, H135/H125 or AW139 for helicopters. We also have a range of A320/B737 certified simulators.

Our simulators are delivered turnkey, with instructor station, projected visuals on a curved screen, AQTG (Automatic Qualification Test Guide), documentation required for certification, and ELITE's assistance throughout the process.

You say you can customize and even equip your simulators with real aircraft parts?

Yes, we can and regularly do. We are able to reproduce all types of planes or helicopters and integrate original parts (Garmin, sidestick - emblematic Airbus mini stick), FCU, throttle, etc... to ensure the closest realism and unprecedented durability.

For example, one of our Learjet simulator projects requested by GFD, a company that trains the German army, is made entirely from a real cockpit.

Some projects, such as the PI-135 at ELITE, are made for research and training purposes for companies or universities, allowing their users to modify the aircraft's flight model in real time and thus visualize how their code and developments affect the aircraft's behavior.

We really want to build their project together with our customers. It is also our strength to be able to do everything in-house because we are a human-sized company, which gives us much more flexibility than large companies that only sell standardized products. Design, software, hardware, and production: everything is done in-house by our teams of engineers, researchers and developers, sometimes in partnership with top Swiss universities.

You mention new products, what are they?

We would like to present two new products that we feel are very important post-Covid, because our customers have suffered from the decline in the number of students and we want to offer them two solutions to take advantage of the current recovery.

The first one is the S311 Convertible SEP/MEP which is nothing else than a convertible FNPT II (analog and glass cockpit to adapt to the type of aircraft of the flight schools) with the best price of the market. It can log as many hours as competing simulators found at three times our price, and is sold as a complete kit with a 3m curved screen, a Garmin GTN650 Original, an instructor station, and 2 years warranty and support. Again, in addition to delivery and installation, FNTP II certification is guaranteed.

The other product mentioned earlier is a simulator based on the A320 FNPT II (Flight & Navigation Training Procedures) MCC. It is a high quality replica with all the layout elements of the real cockpit. We even include original parts such as Airbus sidesticks, for more realism, seats, shelves and other original elements. The latter was developed in close cooperation with A320 pilots and captains in order to provide a high performance solution for student pilots to get familiar with this type of aircraft before finishing their training.

For this we provide a complete package including certification, a screen up to 7m, an instructor station, and very advanced systems. We also have the ability to upgrade the simulator to FTD2 level for our customers who wish to further train on the aircraft.

In short, ELITE has designed and thought these new features for its customers, to help them during the recovery, first from a financial point of view but also with an aircraft that gives real arguments to flight schools to attract and train students.

Thank you René, would you like to address a message to your present and future customers?

To sum up, I would like to say that we have thought of everything so that our products are easily profitable for our customers, easy to use and so that they can be installed in almost any room since they can be completely dismantled. Therefore, they do not require major work. We are in a continuous R&D process in order to obtain the best quality-price ratio while ensuring that we deliver solutions that work over time. Indeed, some of our customers have been using their ELITE simulator for more than 20 years, that is to say several tens of thousands of hours on it.

We remain faithful to our values despite the difficulties linked to the crisis because we know that our buyers want to find a guarantee of quality with expertise and know-how, and always at the best price.

Finally, I would like to tell our customers that we are always there for them in these difficult times, just as we have been for 33 years now. We consider our simulator sales as the signature of a true partnership over the long term, with the accompaniment and support that our customers appreciate so much.