VR Flight Training Comes to the Himalayas

Loft Dynamics, EASA, and Airbus Helicopters have teamed up to bring a new helicopter safety training programme to Nepal.

Helicopter operations in Nepal are a lifeline for remote communities, covering everything from transport and rescue to tourism across high-altitude, unpredictable terrain. The month-long programme, running out of Kathmandu, puts pilots inside a virtual reality simulator that replicates real mountain flying conditions. Every Nepali helicopter pilot is required to complete four hours of training, split between mountain flying and emergency procedures.

A team of experienced instructors will lead the sessions, including Lorenz Nufer and Nick Mayhew on mountain flying, and Klaus Kraus from Airbus International Services and Yann Guérin, head of training operations at Airbus Helicopters, covering emergency scenarios.

"Traditional full-flight simulators are usually not feasible in places like the Himalayas. By bringing a compact, immersive VR training system directly to Nepal, pilots can now train safely and more effectively for the exact conditions and scenarios they fly in," said Fabi Riesen, founder and CTO of Loft Dynamics.

The programme sits within the EU–South Asia Aviation Partnership Project, an EASA-led initiative supporting aviation safety and capacity-building across the region.