Loft Dynamics’ virtual reality (VR) Airbus H125 helicopter simulator has become the first qualified by EASA for helicopter external sling load (Heslo) pilot training.
Loft’s simulator combines outside VR views with real helicopter equipment such as controls and avionics with a six-degrees-of-freedom motion base. Instead of viewing screens as in traditional simulators, the VR device allows the pilot to look in any direction, including back inside the helicopter, and see what would normally be seen in real life.
A training syllabus developed by Loft specialists replicates sling loads such as boxes, concrete buckets, Bambi Buckets, and tree trunks, with various rope lengths. A field study that Loft commissioned showed that after simulator training, pilots could fly sling loads in a real helicopter with a 65-foot rope “without intervention from the instructor.”
"After a pilot initially trained on the Loft Dynamics simulator, it was the only time I didn’t have to take corrective actions at the controls during a first real-world sling load instruction flight," said André Mühlematter, pilot and instructor at Heli Austria.
“It’s essential for pilots to see the load in the electrically adjustable mirror and be able to look down vertically to position the cargo precisely,” said Fabi Riesen, Loft Dynamics founder and CEO. “These are the core techniques for Heslo training, and our VR simulator replicates them more realistically than ever before.”