Maritime Helicopter Training Centre (MHTC)

The Maritime Helicopter Training Center (MHTC) is completed at the Shearwater Base.

On October 5^th, 2007, as part of the Maritime Helicopter Program (MHP), L-3 MAS has delivered the Maritime Helicopter Training Center (MHTC)  to Sikorsky. The MHTC building which has been under construction since March of 2005 will be delivered one full month ahead of its intended delivery date. It is located at the 12 Wing, Shearwater Base in Nova Scotia . 

The three-story building was designed and built to satisfy to DND’s most stringent performance specifications.  It is divided in three large areas of interest and covers 10,000 m². 

The first area is the Simulator/Trainer Bay that will house two large Operational Mission Simulators provided by Sikorsky. These devices will each have a flight and a mission simulator integrated to function together in the very same way as the aircraft itself and will operate under real mission conditions.  The training bay will also provide “in situ” training with two realistic simulator-trainers.  It will consist of real aircraft components for the aircraft maintenance training of DND personnel specialized in avionics and mechanical maintenance.  Two other simulator-trainers also form part of the equipment of the building to train operators with the helicopter hoist and the loading of weapons on the aircraft.

The second area, the Classroom area, will have fourteen classrooms for computer-assisted training and eight briefing rooms integrated with the simulators and mission information system that will allow the instructors and trainees to have access to and analyze their performance during simulated or real missions.  This area will also have the Mission Preparation Training class where trainees will learn how to prepare for missions on dedicated computers.  The centre will have a capacity to accommodate 200 plus students/trainees at the same time working at various stages of their training and with the different devices provided at the centre.  

The third area, the Office area, will occupy space on the three levels of the MHTC.  It will be used by DND instructors and management personnel as well as contractors (Sikorsky, L-3 MAS and GD Canada). This area will also house the computer server room for the integrated information environment (IIE) which will provide shared information for all MHP participants.

Although the primary role of these Maritime Helicopters (MH) is for military purposes, they are extensively used on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for search and rescue missions.  For example, they will be used to lift people from capsized ships.  As such accidents mostly happen in the worst of weather, sometimes with winds of up to 140 km/h and waves as high as 15 m, the MH aircrew must receive extensive and state-of–the-art training to be fully prepared to save lives in these fearsome conditions.  Whether the mission is for military or humanitarian reasons, there is no room for the slightest error on the part of any crew member and each action must be precisely planned.

The MHTC building has a thoroughly modern architecture with a large atrium in which the cafeteria and locker rooms will provide a relaxed environment for DND personnel during their stay at the Shearwater facilities.   It is also important to note that the building was designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) silver criteria, giving the building a high environmentally friendly standard. 

L-3 MAS is proud to have been able to deliver such a complex design and building and would like to thank everyone involved in this project.

Michel Gendron, Contracts, MH Project, L-3 MAS Canada