Airbus Helicopters has partnered on the development of a virtual reality-based simulator for H125 helicopter with VRM Switzerland to achieve the highest level of fidelity possible with the real aircraft.
The full-motion virtual reality (VR) simulator, offers a realistic rendering and representative pilot experience that will help enhance operational safety.
The partnership was done to ensure the training device offers the highest level of fidelity, with outstanding visuals that provide a fully immersive experience to the crew said Airbus. Both companies aim to boost safety in the single-engine helicopter segment through the development of more affordable and efficient training tools.
“A key pillar of our Airbus Helicopters training strategy is to enhance the safety of customer operations, so we’ve been sharing our expertise and even sending four of our own pilots on site with at VRM’s headquarters to finetune the device, ensuring it is as realistic and representative as possible,” said Sabrina Barbera, Head of Training, Simulation & Flight Ops at Airbus Helicopters.
“The cooperation has resulted in an outstanding training device which is now representative of the aircraft in flight. The finalization of the H125 full-motion virtual reality simulator together with Airbus Helicopters is a remarkable step as it will now allow more cost-effective basic and mission training accessible for pilots flying this helicopter type,” said Fabi Riesen, CEO of VRM Switzerland.
“We’ve supported VRM Switzerland’s team to achieve the highest quality of fidelity, with outstanding visuals that provide a fully immersive experience to the crew. Emergency procedures can be performed on the simulator, mitigating risky maneuvers on helicopters.
“Virtual reality is aligned with the EASA Safety roadmap, one of the main objectives being to enable the development of new more affordable training devices for helicopters,” says Gilles Bruniaux, head of product safety at Airbus Helicopters.
Airbus Helicopters and VRM Switzerland intend to enhance their cooperation and to deploy this simulator technology worldwide, while also potentially expanding to other aircraft.
Earlier this year the European Union Aviation Safety Agency awarded the first certificate for a VR flight simulator to be used as a training device to VRM Switzerland. The VR device was certified as Flight and Navigation Procedures Trainer (FNPT) level II for a Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter, the most used helicopter worldwide for the initial training of helicopter pilots, said EASA.
