Dübendorf/Santa Monica - Loft Dynamics, formerly known as VRM Switzerland, has established its North American headquarters in Santa Monica and opened its first virtual reality flight simulator for pilot training in the USA. In addition, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has initiated the purchase of one of these simulators.

Loft Dynamics from the canton of Zurich has opened its first virtual reality (VR) flight simulation hub in North America. This is located at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) in California and has been equipped with the H125 VR flight simulation training device (FSTD), which is used to train pilots on the Airbus H125 helicopter. According to a press release, the company, which rebranded to its current name from VRMotion – VRM Switzerland in December 2022, has also opened its second headquarters at the airport in the Californian city.  

Loft Dynamics expanded to North America in 2021 and since this time has been installing its simulators at various flight schools, helicopter operators and global regulatory organizations. “We recognized a significant unmet demand to experience our technology in person in the USA”, comments Fabi Riesen, founder and CEO of Loft Dynamics, in the press release. “Establishing a physical space became the obvious solution, making it more accessible to fly our sims, practice a range of maneuvers, and fully grasp the power of VR technology in this capacity”, he adds.

The company has also announced that the LAPD Air Support Division has initiated the purchase of the same simulator that is also located at the company’s hub in Santa Monica. The Air Support Division of the LAPD is said to be the world’s largest municipal airborne law enforcement operation in the world.

“It's incredibly challenging for any pilot today to realistically train for the dangerous maneuvers and diverse scenarios in which we fly”, as Kevin Gallagher, Chief Pilot for the Los Angeles Police Department, Air Support Division, explains in the press release. According to him, the functionalities offered by Loft Dynamics’ simulators are “critical to providing our more than 50 pilots, who fly around the clock, with the type of conditions and maneuvers they often encounter”. ce/mm

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