Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

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Matt Thurber

The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) has qualified Loft Dynamics’ virtual reality flight simulator to FTD level-7, becoming the third regulator, after the FAA and EASA, to do so. Installed at helicopter operator Nakanihon Air at Nagoya Airport (RJNA), the simulator is a Loft Airbus H125 TXi and is both the first level-7-qualified simulator in Japan and Loft’s first Asia-Pacific simulator installation. Inter-Craft helped arrange the delivery and worked with the JCAB on qualification.
Equipped with a six-degrees-of-freedom motion platform, the Loft simulator replicates the real helicopter’s avionics and systems, allowing pilots to practice emergencies in a safe environment. Engine failure scenarios can include full-down autorotations, and tail rotor and hydraulic system malfunctions are fully replicated, as are changing weather and flight into inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions. The Loft simulator also replicates a technical crewmember station to facilitate coordinated training between pilots and mission specialists.
“By enabling repeated, immersive training, this technology will strengthen pilot readiness and elevate safety across a wide range of operations,” said Nakanihon Air president Shigeharu Matsuoka. “It will also allow us to refine the skills of pilots on the front lines and, more broadly, accelerate the development of the next generation of aviation talent in Japan.”

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

Japan Civil Aviation Bureau Qualifies Loft VR Simulator to FTD Level-7

Virtual reality training platform is first in Japan and Asia-Pacific

Equipped with a 6-degrees-of-freedom motion platform, the Loft Dynamics virtual reality simulator replicates the real helicopter’s avionics and systems.

JCAB Qualifies Loft VR Simulator to FTD Level-7

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