PHI Air Medical, one of the largest air ambulance providers in the United States, has installed a full-motion virtual reality flight simulator from Loft Dynamics at its training base in Mesa, Arizona. The simulator replicates the Airbus H125 helicopter and is the basis of a new pilot training programme that gives crews round-the-clock access to mission-specific scenarios. Loft Dynamics describes it as the first VR system qualified by both the FAA and EASA, and the company's announcement presents PHI as the first air medical operator in the Americas to adopt full-motion VR for pilot training. AVweb reported that PHI began using it in its emergency operations training in October 2025.
PHI instructors are building the curriculum on the platform, which combines a 360-degree 3D cockpit, force feedback and six-degrees-of-freedom motion. Crews can routinely rehearse zero-visibility landings, high-altitude rescues, night operations with night vision goggles and variable patient loads at their home base rather than in the aircraft.
At the time of the announcement, PHI was working with its local FAA office to integrate the simulator into its approved Part 135 training programme.
