Textron division Tru Simulation Plus Training to open Wichita facility

Tru Simulation Plus Training, a Textron-owned company, plans to open a maintenance training facility in Wichita.

The facility would be at Textron Aviation’s campus at the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport and would focus on maintenance training for current model Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft, the company said.

The site will be inside Building C14 in southwest Wichita, built in the 1980s.

“The facility is ideally suited for theoretical instruction in a classroom setting as well as practical, hands-on training in the adjoining hangar space,” said Textron Aviation spokeswoman Stephanie Harder.

It will be equipped with Tru Simulation courseware and aircraft maintenance instruction and modern classrooms as well as the flight line hangar, Tru Simulation said.

Cessna and Beechcraft airplane owners and operators will take courses that range from avionics initial theory to engine run and taxi for the different aircraft models.

They will train on a combination of actual airplanes and simulation maintenance trainers, the company said.

“We are excited to bring our vast maintenance training expertise, which has supported the U.S. military for decades, to Cessna and Beechcraft customers,” Kyle Crooks, Tru Simulation’s vice president and general manager of mission and maintenance training, said in a statement. “This represents great value-added for customers purchasing Textron Aviation aircraft products.”

The facility will be ready for Beechcraft maintenance training in January 2016 and for Cessna maintenance training in January 2017.

The company plans to later expand the offerings to include Cessna and Beechcraft models no longer in production.

The expansion into Wichita will be beneficial, Harder said. For one, Cessna and Beechcraft operators will receive training directly on Textron Aviation’s west campus.

“This will allow ready access to Textron Aviation experts, whether it be in the factory or in the service center, including maintenance technicians and engineering, production and product support teams,” Harder said in an e-mail.

Tru Simulation Plus Training, based in Goose Creek, S.C., was formed in April after Textron acquired three companies, including Mechtronix, Opinicus Corp. and a portion of the former AAI Logistics and Technical Services. In July, the company acquired ProFlight, an FAA-approved training center specializing in Cessna Citation CJ and Conquest series training.

The company offers air transport simulation, business and military simulation, mission and maintenance training and training centers and services.

This story was originally published December 2, 2014 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Textron division Tru Simulation Plus Training to open Wichita facility."