AeronautX invests €40m in business jet training centre
The centre's interior, which includes pilot lounges and quite areas for studying, was designed by Austrian firm Unykat.
AeronautX is opening a business aviation trading centre near Amsterdam Schipol Airport, with an initial investment of about €40m ($44.7m). The AX Aero Group subsidiary expects its first customers in the first quarter of 2027.
The building, just north of the airport, has space for eight simulators bays but will open with two full-flight simulators. Bombardier Challenger 3500 training is slated to begin in March 2027 and Challenger 650 training follows in July. Additional types are planned over time.
“The initial investment in terms of the centre, the setup and the initial simulators is about 40 million [euros],” said Niall Olver, chairman of AX Aero Group during a presentation to reporters.
The Challenger 3500 simulator is owned by VistaJet but managed and operated by AeronautX. It will support VistaJet’s fleet and also be available to other customers. The simulators come from Access Flight Simulation, a standalone sister AX Aero Group company.
AeronautX will offer initial type ratings, base training, line introduction, recurrent training and instructor training. Operators that want to use their own instructors can dry lease the simulators. Bookings and cancellation terms are flexible, with no upfront commitment of exclusivity.
An Axis Flight Simulation Level D qualified simulator replicates the cockpit on a motion system that offers a 200-degree horizontal field of view (FOV) and a 40-degree vertical FOV.
The company says its instructors will have flown the types they teach. “We will engage instructors that have experience not just in business aviation, but in the type of the airplane that they train on,” said Jörg Oberhofer, founder and MD of AeronautX.
Robert Lascelles, local head of training at AeronautX, a former head of training for CAE in Europe, said about 80% of CAE’s instructors have not flown the type they train pilots to fly. AeroNautX plans to give its instructors leave to fly the aircraft they provide training for.
The centre will use systems trainers, including 3D and virtual reality tools. It will also have an AI debriefing platform that listens to crew communication and suggests competency upgrades. “The AI suggests the grading, the instructor makes the assessment,” said Lascelles.
The investment comes in a market that is dominated by CAE and FlightSafety International. Asked about how pricing would compare with the multi-year contracts many operators hold, Olver said: “We don’t expect to change the world overnight… It’s about value. It’s not about the price.”
