After three-and-a-half years of working with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, on Monday FlightSafety International received the CAA's nod to conduct JAA-approved training courses and type rating revalidations in North America for the Dassault Falcon 50, 50EX, 900, 900EX and 2000.

"Our experience with the CAA was quite good, but they put us through our paces," FSI head of training (JAA) Mark A. Chapman told Show News.

FSI already held CAA/JAA approvals for training on all models of BAe 125/Hawker and Cessna Citation, plus Gulfstream IV/V and G200, Learjet 31/35/45/55 and 60, and the Bell 430 helicopter.

As of December 31, 2001, the company had trained more than 3,000 JAA-licensed customers. "Many European customers prefer to come to the USA for their training," Chapman noted. "They like the proximity to the airframe manufacturers, and increasingly crews hold dual FAA/JAA licenses. As fleets become more varied they favor a 'one call does it all approach', so that, for example, a company operating a Gulfstream and a Bell 430 will come to FlightSafety and enjoy common training standards, language and billing."

Since 9/11, Chapman observed, FSI has faced "some challenges" in bringing in foreign crews for training, although this has primarily affected those who do not already hold an aircraft type rating or who do not fly for a company holding an air operator's certificate.