Helicopter flight simulator specialist Loft Dynamics is moving into the eVTOL aircraft training sector with plans to develop equipment for Dufour Aerospace’s hybrid-electric Aero3 tilt-wing model. The system Loft announced on Friday will use the company’s virtual reality technology and is expected to be available in early 2025, at which point it can help Dufour complete the development of the aircraft.
“Our partnership with Dufour Aerospace represents a big stride forward in training a wide range of pilots at a time when operators need it most,” said Loft Dynamics founder and CEO, Fabi Riesen. “It also lays the groundwork for the eventual certification of our eVTOL simulator.”
According to Riesen, his engineering team’s has developed expertise it can now apply to new eVTOL vehicles, having developed rotorcraft systems that have performance levels exceeding current regulatory requirements. “We started with helicopters, which are extremely challenging to simulate—the physics, motion, and human factors are more complex than all other aircraft,” he explained. “Our 360-degree, 3D view, as well as highly detailed terrain and cityscape models and realistic ground effects, make our technology transferrable and incredibly valuable to eVTOLs.”
Dufour, which like Loft is based in Switzerland, is now finalising the design of the Aero3’s propulsion system. The aircraft is expected to carry up to eight passengers or 1,650 pounds of cargo on flights of up to around 554 nm.
The company’s lead engineer Simon Bendrey told AIN the company expects to take until late 2026 to formally launch the program. It takes the view that regulations around the type certification of passenger-carrying eVTOL aircraft are not yet fully settled, giving it time to fully absorb lessons from developing its smaller Aero2 family of autonomous eVTOL utility aircraft
Aero2 Utility Drone Set to Start Flight Testing
Within the next two or three weeks, Dufour plans to start flight testing the first full-scale prototype of an aircraft, which is now in the latest version X2.3 configuration. Bendrey said the company will build a further three prototypes to be ready to start proof-of-concept flights in 2025, as it prepares to start mass production in 2026.
The Aero2 will deliver a payload of 440 pounds, and Dufour is also working on a family of smaller so-called AeroMini drones based on the same core design. Prospective Aero2 launch customers Air Methods in the U.S. and European Medical Drone in Sweden will apply for local approval to conduct mission-validation trials in their own countries. Dufour also aims to trial the drone on a project to perform high-resolution laser imagery scanning of the Alps.
The trial operations are supported by the Specific Operation Risk Assessment (SORA) regulations that EASA introduced in September 2023. The SAIL III standard (Specific Operation Risk Assessment covers initial beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations. The SAIL IV standard, which Dufour aims to achieve by the end of 2025, permits flights over populated areas.
Dufour plans to use the fourth Aero2 prototype to fit out with a variety of sensors for various missions, such as border control flights and forest fire monitoring. According to founder and CEO Thomas Pfammatter, for applications such as police work, the Aero2 fills a gap between smaller drones with limited payload and range and more expensive existing options such as helicopters.
Pfammatter, who has flown over 4,500 missions as a pilot with aero medical rescue service Air Zermatt, has previously used Loft Dynamics' helicopter simulators for training. He said the new simulator will help Dufour accelerate the development of the pilot interface for the Aero3 eVTOL.
"The virtual reality approach is undoubtedly superior among extended reality training solutions and is critical as we develop a man-machine interface for the Aero3," Pfammatter commented. "It allows the pilot to integrate new concepts quickly and effectively, including tilt-wing operation and fountain lift and suckdown ground effects at low to zero speeds. Most importantly, it enables our pilots to gain experience in a safe and hyper-realistic environment. This will generate invaluable data as we develop the aircraft."