Flight Test & Aviation Consultancy
Flight Test & Aviation Consultancy (FTAC) is a privately owned company, delivering rotary wing flight test & aviation expertise to both civilian and military customers. Depending on the requirements, FTAC can deliver a single consultant or a team of experts tailored to the project. Because of the broad experience within the company and its partners, FTAC ensures sustained availability of the required aviation expertise and experience.
Services provided by FTAC,
include:
- Trial preparation & engineering support;
- Ground & Flight test management and performance;
- Post-flight data analysis;
- Evaluation and tuning of Flight Simulator Devices (FSTD);
- Compliance Verification Engineer (CVE);
- Subject Matter Expert accident investigation;
- Flight instruction on Cabri G2, EC135 and NH90.
Recent projects / activities
- Handling Qualities & Performance testing on AS350;
- PBN certification AS355;
- Ship-Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL) trials;
- OT&E sonobuoys and torpedo firing;
- OT&E M3M machine gun;
- Certification flight test for new helicopter self-protection system (MASE);
- Industry acceptance test flights for NH90;
- Maintenance test flights NH90;
- FSTD-evaluations (military and EASA);
- Compliance Verification Engineer (CVE);
- Training of Functional Check Flight pilots;
- Air crash investigation;
- Research flight tests on research simulators of Delft University of Technology and Netherlands Aerospace Centre, NLR.
Partners
FTAC cooperates with well-established, first class companies and research institutes to ensure it has access to the latest developments and best resources in the area of flight test and certification.
Customers
- BOGGI Aeronautics, Italy;
- S4A, Spain;
- Airplus engineering GmbH, Germany;
- HeliCentre, the Netherlands;
Background owner & director of operations
As director of operations Michel de Koning is responsible for contact with the customers, assignment of the flight test expert(s) and project management.
Michel is a test pilot and type rating instructor with a large experience in both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. His operational experience in combination with his background as aerospace engineer allow him to understand customer needs and ensure easy interaction with both engineers and operators.
Michel joined the Navy in 1995 and acted as navigation officer before starting his flying career in 2001. His first operational assignment was flying Search & Rescue on the Westland Lynx helicopter followed by multiple embarked deployments around the globe, conducting Counter-Piracy operations in the Indian Ocean, Counter-Drugs operations in the Caribbean and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) missions in the Mediterranean and Northern Atlantic. In 2009 he obtained his Aerospace Engineering degree from University of Technology in Delft. In 2014 he graduated from Empire Test Pilot’s School at Boscombe Down, winning the McKenna Trophy for best student. Since 2015 Michel has been working as a test pilot on NH90. In 2020 he founded FTAC, Flight Test & Aviation Consultancy.
Michel has over 4000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft types, both rotary wing and fixed wing. He holds the following licences:
- Military Pilot License with Instrument, Instructor and Test Pilot rating;
- EASA ATPL (H) with Instrument, Instructor and Flight test rating (Cat I);
- EASA CPL (A) with frozen ATPL and Multi Engine / Instrument Rating.
Discover The Future
Quality, Reliability, Commitment.