OREANDA-NEWS. May 23, 2011. The UTair Aviation Personnel Training Center in Tyumen (PTC) has been certified by Eurocopter to for both pilot and technical training according to Eurocopter program standards in the Russian language. Derek Sharples, Eurocopter Executive Vice President for Support and Services handed over the Certificate of Compliance with Eurocopter Standards to Andrey Martirosov, CEO UTair Aviation and Vladimir Dyomkin, Head of the UTair Training Center, on May 19.

The UTair Training Center has been certificated for training pilots and technical personnel for the AS350 and AS355 helicopters – the most in demand Eurocopter models. The certification project was initiated two years ago, but the agreements signed by UTair and Eurocopter at HeliRussia 2010 proved to be a critical step in the realization of the training program and subsequent audit for certification.

''Our companies have been partners for a long time,'' said CEO of UTair Aviation Andrey Martirosov. ''The launch of Eurocopter pilot and engineer training at the UTair Training Center is a new and very important stage in our successful cooperation. We are proud that our Training Center is the first in Russia to be endorsed by Eurocopter - this confirms the professional quality of our specialists.''

Derek Sharples, Eurocopter Executive Vice President for Support and Services, also commented on the opening of a new phase of relations with UTair, “We are glad to welcome UTair’s Personnel Training Center into the Eurocopter family, '' he said. ''The Tyumen PTC will become the 20th Training Center in the global Eurocopter network and is the first external Training Center ever certified by Eurocopter Group. This demonstrates Tyumen PTC’s high level of professionalism and training standards, the latter being fully compliant with international regulations.”

Laurence Rigolini, CEO Eurocopter Vostok, added that Eurocopter was ''sure that adaptation of our global products to market demands, including the joint projects between the official representative of Eurocopter in Russia and CIS – Eurocopter Vostok and our Russian partners, will contribute to development of the Eurocopter fleet and expansion of our presence on this market. We are proud to have the opportunity to unveil this joint project with UTair Aviation – a recognized leader on the Russian and international helicopter market.”

All facilities and staff at the Tyumen PTC are ready for the first Eurocopter training course to kick off in June 2011. Both UTair staff and personnel from other Russian carriers are eligible to participate in the Eurocopter program at the Tyumen PTC.

UTair Aviation is the largest helicopter service provider in the world in terms of fleet size and payload capacity, with more than 250 Russian and foreign helicopters. UTair has been successfully operating Eurocopter helicopters since 2006. UTair Aviation subsidiary UTair Engineering received certification as an official MRO Center for Eurocopter helicopters AS 350, AS 355N and BO 105 for O and I checks in 2010. UTair and Eurocopter have signed a contract for the delivery of 16 AS350 and 4 AS355 helicopters.

The Personnel Training Center in Tyumen is registered as a non-commercial partnership and is one of the largest civil aviation training centers in Russia. The training center was established by UTair Aviation and its subsidiaries UTair Engineering and the Center for Transport and Services.

The Eurocopter Group is the global leader in helicopter manufacturing and related services. In total, the group’s products account for 33% of global civil and parapublic helicopter fleet. Its strong worldwide presence is supported by 28 subsidiaries and partnerships on five continents, along with a dense network of distributors, certified agents and maintenance centers. There are 11,200 Eurocopter helicopters currently in service with nearly 2,900 customers in 147 countries. Eurocopter offers the largest civil and military helicopter range in the world.