Airbus Helicopters and VRM Switzerland have revealed that they have been cooperating during the development of VRM’s H125 full-motion virtual reality flight simulator.
The companies have worked together to ensure that the device delivers the highest possible level of fidelity. They both think that safety in the single-engine helicopter segment can be improved by the introduction of affordable and efficient training tools like this new simulator.
“A key pillar of Airbus Helicopters’ training strategy is to enhance the safety of customer operations, so we’ve been sharing our expertise and have even sent four of our own pilots on site at VRM’s headquarters to fine-tune the device, ensuring it is as realistic and representative as possible,” explained Sabrina Barbera, head of training, simulation and flight ops at Airbus Helicopters.
“The cooperation has resulted in an outstanding training device which is now representative of the aircraft in flight,” remarked VRM’s CEO, Fabi Riesen. “The finalisation 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 for pilots flying this helicopter type.”
“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,” noted Gilles Bruniaux, head of product safety at Airbus Helicopters. “Emergency procedures can be performed on the simulator, mitigating risky manoeuvres 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.”
According to the companies, they intend to enhance their cooperation and deploy the simulator technology worldwide, potentially extending it to other aircraft.
