São José dos Campos, Brazil, July 4, 2017 – Embraer delivered today the first Phenom 100 business jet to Affinity Flight Training Services. The aircraft has been selected to provide Multi-Engine Pilot Training to UK Armed Forces as part of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence´s Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) programme. The contract with Affinity comprises a firm order for five Phenom 100s and services support, as well as an option for additional follow on aircraft.
“The departure of the first Embraer Phenom 100 from Brazil, en route to the UK, marks a significant milestone in preparation for delivering the MFTS Fixed Wing programme.” said Iain Chalmers, Managing Director of Affinity. “Affinity is delighted this has been achieved ahead of the original programme schedule, and look forward to seeing the aircraft at RIAT 2017.”
“We are very happy with our partnership with Affinity and for the opportunity to take part in the UKMFTS programme”, said Jackson Schneider, president and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. “The Phenom 100 delivers a sound combination of top performance, reliability, low operating costs and high availability. There is no doubt that the advanced technology of the Phenom 100 makes it the right solution for the Multi Engine Pilot Training of the UK Armed Forces, and will reduce costs whilst ensuring the proficiency of flight crews.”
The Fixed Wing programme is intended to replace the Elementary, Multi-Engine and Basic Flying Training that is currently delivered on aging platforms with a new, fully integrated solution that provides state-of-the-art training aircraft, ground based training devices and courseware all derived from the training design developed by Ascent Flight Training, the Training Service Provider of the UKMFTS programme. In 2014, Affinity was selected by Ascent Flight Training to provide and maintain the aircraft selected for the UKMFTS programme.
The UKMFTS takes United Kingdom Armed Forcesaircrew from initial training through Elementary, Basic and Advanced flying training phases preparing them for their arrival at their designated Operational Conversion Units.
