Varjo’s TJ Moser on XR’s Expanding Role in Pilot Training

At EATS 2025, Halldale correspondent Atul Chandra grabbed TJ Moser of Varjo to discuss the growing influence of extended reality (XR) in aviation training.

Moser, drawing on his experience in military flight training, explained how XR headsets have evolved so much in the last 12 months.  He noted how users can now see their own hands, interact with cockpit elements, and experience realistic visual environments, all within a compact, deployable footprint.

He described how XR has been used to augment dome simulators in military settings, offering high visual fidelity without sacrificing realism. This approach is now transitioning into civil aviation, particularly in ab initio training for aircraft like the Cirrus SR20 and SR22, and emerging platforms such as eVTOLs.

As Moser explained, military teams have already navigated many of the early challenges in XR deployment; "we know where all the dead bodies lie’" allowing civilian organisations to benefit from proven approaches without repeating costly mistakes.

Moser highlighted measurable improvements in training outcomes, including faster progression to solo flights and enhanced performance across manoeuvres. XR systems enable more frequent, accessible training, reducing reliance on traditional simulators and allowing organisations to scale more effectively.

The discussion also covered Varjo’s latest developments, including ergonomic updates to the XR-4 headset, night mode, multi-GPU support, and command line interface for simplified scenario control. These innovations aim to extend headset longevity while enhancing software capabilities.

This interview underscores XR’s potential to meet rising pilot demand by improving ground-based training and integrating seamlessly into existing fleets. As Moser noted, the military has paved the way—and now the civilian sector is poised to benefit.