Loft Dynamics has released its second Airbus virtual reality (VR) simulator, the H145, which is now available for order. Boston Medflight has signed a letter of intent to add the H145 VR simulator to its training program and will install it at one of its four Massachusetts bases.

The H145 simulator is onsite at Loft’s Verticon exhibit, and the company is offering demo flights during the show. 

With a six-degrees-of-freedom motion base, the simulator provides haptic feedback that replicates the feel of flying the real helicopter. This includes sling loads, runway texture, and flight control force feedback. Real-world visuals are provided using a VR headset, eliminating the need to install a heavy external visual system on the simulator. The VR visuals also allow the pilot to look in any direction, including into the rear of the helicopter.

All cockpit instruments, avionics, buttons, and knobs are either modeled as real elements or replicated in VR. When reaching to interact with avionics, the pilot will see their hand and body movements in real time, with precisely replicated light and shadows on virtual body parts, thanks to Loft’s POSE tracking system.

Simulator instructors can train pilots in real-world missions using various scenarios and environments such as night-vision goggles, whiteout/brownout, medevac scenes, slope landing practice areas, rooftop landings, and inadvertent IMC encounters. The simulator uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to record pilot performance and enable feedback to optimize training.

Like all of Loft’s simulators, instructors can use H145’s LoftWIN virtual demonstration mode to record maneuvers that the student can then practice while incorporating the advice from the instructor.

“Our critical care medical transport pilots operate in complex and unpredictable environments, from landing on highways at night to navigating congested airspace to reach a city hospital,” said Boston MedFlight CEO Maura Hughes. “Comprehensive training for these high-stakes scenarios is essential, and advanced flight simulators like the Loft Dynamics H145 hold the power to be a game-changing solution by immersing pilots in realistic scenarios within a controlled environment.”