First Air Ambulance Operator in the Americas Adopts VR Simulator for Pilot Training

• PHI Air Medical is now training pilots with Loft Dynamics’ full-motion VR system, marking a shift from traditional simulators.
• The program supports mission-specific scenarios like night ops, high-altitude rescues, and zero-visibility landings.

PHI Air Medical has become the first air ambulance operator in the Americas to train its pilots using a full-motion virtual reality flight simulator. The company installed a Loft Dynamics Airbus H125 simulator, qualified by both the FAA and EASA, at its Mesa, Arizona training center.

With more than 100 helicopters across 82 U.S. bases, PHI Air Medical transports over 22,500 patients annually and has logged 12.5 million flight hours. PHI instructors are developing a dynamic training program using Loft Dynamics’ platform and are working with the local FAA to have this integrated into its approved curriculum.

“We fly into the unknown every day—remote crash sites, busy city centers, adverse weather, unfamiliar terrain—and we do it in service of patients who don’t have time to wait,” said Duke Baker, director of aviation operations at PHI Air Medical, in an official news release. “With this technology, we can safely give our pilots any mission at any time, right at our home base, and rehearse until the maneuvers become instinctive—engrained in muscle memory and reflex. And it’s not just a win for us—it’s a signal to the entire industry of what’s now possible. This technology is powerful.” 

PHI’s new curriculum leverages Loft Dynamics’ motion-enabled VR platform, which combines a fully immersive cockpit environment with tactile feedback and six-axis movement. The system allows crews to routinely practice complex scenarios, from zero-visibility landings and night vision flights to mountain rescues and fluctuating patient conditions.

Lofty Dynamics has also confirmed that Boston MedFlight has signed a letter of intent to install a Loft Dynamics H145 simulator. This indicates that PHI Air Medical may be the first of several air ambulance providers moving toward VR-based training.

🌀 Tom’s Take:

VR is enabling training that real life can’t. For air medical crews, that means safely practicing rare, high-risk missions that are too dangerous or unpredictable to stage any other way.

Source: Loft Dynamics