When SimuFlite opened its modern training center at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in March 1984, it brought new standards and a fresh concept to a multimillion dollar industry that had been dominated by a single company for three decades.

SimuFlite was conceived by N.S. "Mike" Waterman Jr. who saw an opportunity open when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) eased its training requirements, encouraging more prominent use of simulators for pilot training. Waterman theorized that flight training using advanced simulators rather than actual aircraft, similar to how airlines were training their pilots, could be applied to business jets.

SimuFlite was a bold, ambitious and expensive undertaking. Waterman and his partners invested $2 million and 18 months on the concept before bringing The Singer Company on board. Singer provided a significant portion of SimuFlite's startup capital as well as the technical expertise of its Link Flight Simulation division, which designed and built simulators for the airline industry, the military and the space program. The $135 million investment made SimuFlite the largest startup venture in aviation history at the time.

Everything SimuFlite had to offer was an innovation. By being centrally located at DFW International Airport, it was easily accessible to national and international clients. For the first time, training for a variety of aircraft was available under one roof instead of scattered across the country in a variety of locations of varying quality. Comfortable classrooms, a dining room, a well-stocked library and a pleasant lounge facilitated the learning process and eased the rigors of training. SimuFlite provided quality and convenience available nowhere else.

Training began with one simulator, a Learjet 35/36. It was the first business jet to receive FAA Level C certification. SimuFlite's instructors were the most experienced and most credentialed available: ATP-certified, type rated and current in the aircraft they instructed. Later that year SimuFlite added Learjet 55 and Gulfstream III simulators. The Learjet 55 simulator was the first with a full color visual system replicating full daylight conditions.

SimuFlite's compilation of firsts continued on June 7, 1984, when Don Nolen, a pilot for Million Air, Addison, Texas, received a Learjet 35 type rating from the FAA after training at SimuFlite. This was the first all-simulator business jet type rating in history and ushered in a new age.

On October 11, 1984, The Singer Company purchased the original investors' interest and SimuFlite became a subsidiary of The Singer Company.

One of SimuFlite's initial developments was its FasTrak program, in which ground schools were primarily centered on computer-based training. Each client sat in front of a monitor and learned from a computer programmed with his or her individual aircraft data. However, this proved unpopular with clients, who said they wanted more human instruction in their training. Consequently, despite all the other innovations, FasTrak caused SimuFlite to struggle for repeat business.

SimuFlite began retooling with traditional instructor-led ground schools and offered FasTrak as an option before phasing it out completely by 1991. Yet the stigma remained, and it would take years for the company to recover from its reputation as a provider of computer-based ground school training.

Operations and growth continued and 1985 was an active year for simulator acquisition. Nine new simulators were added: Citation I/II, Citation III, Falcon 20, Falcon 50, Gulfstream II, HS 125-700, King Air 200, Learjet 24/25, Westwind 1/2. The King Air simulator was the first business turboprop aircraft to receive FAA Phase II approval.

SimuFlite also expanded into a new arena when it began operating the Commercial Flight Training Center, Totowa, N.J., to provide training for flight crews of Boeing 727, 737 and 747 aircraft.

In 1986, SimuFlite again expanded its training services and customer base by offering aviation maintenance technician training. This enabled flight departments to train their entire crews at SimuFlite. A Falcon 10/100 simulator was added in 1986, and a Learjet 35 "changeout" was approved by the FAA for SimuFlite's Learjet 24/25 simulator, the first such approval for two different models on the same simulator. SimuFlite's next simulator came in 1988, when it installed an MD-82 simulator in Houston to train Continental Airlines pilots.

1988 was a pivotal year for Singer and SimuFlite. A hostile $1.06 billion takeover of Singer was successfully executed by an investor, who took Singer private and changed its name to BiCoastal Corporation. The debt generated by this action led to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by BiCoastal in 1989. Despite the bankruptcy and economic downturn, throughout the end of the 1980s and early 1990s SimuFlite continued to increase its business.

BiCoastal began selling its holdings and in 1991 it sold SimuFlite to Southern Air Transport, a cargo airline. Southern Air assigned SimuFlite the responsibility for Southern Air's Hercules Flight Training Center in Marietta, Ga. This facility provides Lockheed L-100/C-130 Hercules flight training to the U.S. military, commercial operators and many air force and government operators around the world. The Hercules Flight Training Center is the factory-authorized training facility for the Lockheed L-100/C-130 Hercules aircraft and offers the world's only FAA certified Lockheed L-100/C-130 Hercules full flight simulator.

In 1994, 10 years after opening its doors, SimuFlite became a profitable company for the first time, with a clearly defined place in professional flight training. Also that year, SimuFlite made the strategic decision to concentrate fully on business aviation and Hercules training. It discontinued its commercial pilot programs and closed its Totowa, N.J., Commercial Flight Training Center.

New business jet simulators were added. In 1995, a Citation V simulator, purchased from the manufacturer in 1993 in incomplete condition, received FAA Level C approval. This was a milestone, since SimuFlite technicians and a select group of contract personnel completed the work on the simulator rather than depending on an established simulator manufacturer.

Also in 1995, a Challenger 601-3A/3R simulator was added. In order to properly support this new program, SimuFlite introduced state-of-the-art multimedia-based ground school materials. In 1996, SimuFlite added Hawker 800/1000 and Gulfstream IV-SP simulators, which are also supported by multimedia ground schools.

In 1996, stringent regulations established by the FAA's Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 142, were made effective for training organizations using simulators, sparking a complex documentation process for SimuFlite's training programs. SimuFlite applied for and received the FAA's first Part 142 Training Center certificate in 1997, which sets comprehensive quality standards for facilities, curricula, personnel, equipment and record keeping.

In 1998, SimuFlite was purchased by GE Capital Services, a global, diversified financial services company with 27 specialized businesses.

In 1999, SimuFlite completed construction of a 164,000 sq. ft. training wing. The following year, it added a second Gulfstream IV-SP simulator.

In 2001, SimuFlite added a Citation Ultra/Bravo, a Citation Excel, a Gulfstream V simulator and a Beechjet 400A, raising its business jet simulator fleet to 22. SimuFlite began construction on a new 70,000 sq. ft. wing. SimuFlite was purchased by CAE, a global leader in providing advanced simulation and controls equipment and integrated training solutions for customers in the civil aviation, military and marine markets.

In 2002, CAE SimuFlite added the King Air 300/350 and the CitationJet simulators. CAE SimuFlite inaugurated the use of CAE’s high fidelity, Simfinity™ technology with its new training program for the Boeing Business Jet. The building expansion was completed; bringing the total square footage to 426,000 sq.ft. and making CAE SimuFlite Dallas the largest corporate flight training center in the world. The Grapevine (QuickTurn) training center relocated into the newly-expanded wing.

CAE SimuFlite enjoys a coveted reputation as the premier training provider for pilots and maintenance personnel. Its success is the product of unparalleled quality and continuous innovation.