Anchorage installation will give Pathfinder pilots year-round access to aircraft-specific training despite weather, limited winter daylight and the demands of Alaska’s flying season
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Sept. 17, 2026 — Loft Dynamics, the leader in virtual reality (VR) pilot training, announced that Pathfinder Aviation will install Alaska’s first Airbus H125 VR simulator at its main base in Anchorage, giving its pilots year-round access to aircraft-specific training in Alaska.
Pathfinder operates a fleet of 22 helicopters and averages roughly 8,000 flight hours annually, supporting remote operations and precision external-load work across Alaska and the continental United States. For helicopter operators in Alaska, training often competes with the realities of the job: weather can limit flyable days, winter brings limited daylight, and peak operating periods are also when helicopters are needed most for customer missions. Most of Pathfinder’s pilots live outside Alaska and travel in for training events, making weather-driven delays even more disruptive.
The simulator is expected to arrive in Anchorage in October 2026, and Pathfinder plans to begin using it immediately for proficiency and mission training.
“Helicopter pilots often do their most demanding work in places where consistent simulator access is hardest to come by,” said Sebastien Borel, CEO of Loft Dynamics. “Alaska exposes the limits of a training model that depends on good weather, spare aircraft and long-distance travel. Pathfinder is changing the equation by putting H125 training at its base in Anchorage, where pilots can train more often, safely and on their own schedule. The old model asks pilots to go to the simulator. We’re building a future where the simulator comes to the pilots.”
“In Alaska, we don’t get to choose when conditions become difficult, so our pilots need to be ready before they do,” said Rogan Parker, CEO of Pathfinder Aviation. “The value of having this simulator in Anchorage is repetition. We can put pilots through a whiteout, IIMC event or emergency, work through decision making, then run the scenario again. That kind of repetition is hard to achieve consistently in the aircraft, and it gives pilots the chance to build judgment before the stakes are real.”
Pathfinder plans to use the simulator for inadvertent IMC (IIMC) avoidance, including repeated practice responding to a loss of visual reference and transitioning to instruments; Part 135 emergency procedures; Part 133 external-load operations; normal and abnormal procedures; whiteout conditions; mountain, pinnacle, slope and confined-site operations; and local site and terrain familiarization.
Heli-skiing will be an early focus. Pathfinder’s H125 pilots operate in mountainous, snow-covered terrain where flat light, blowing snow and rapidly changing visibility can complicate landing-zone decisions. Loft Dynamics is developing scenery based on Pathfinder’s real-world heli-ski operating areas in the Chugach Mountains, including the Valdez/Thompson Pass region and north Cordova, allowing pilots to familiarize themselves with local terrain and landing sites before flying those missions.
The simulator will initially support Pathfinder’s internal pilot group. Pathfinder plans to integrate it into recurrent and seasonal training and, as local demand develops, make it available to other helicopter operators and pilots in the region.
The Anchorage installation builds on Loft Dynamics’ work with operators including Air Greenland and Helitrans Norge, bringing aircraft-specific training closer to pilots in places where distance, weather and geography can make frequent training harder to access.
Pathfinder plans to pursue FAA Level 7 flight training device qualification for the simulator. It will use the device for proficiency and mission training before qualification. Once qualified, Pathfinder would plan to incorporate available FAA training credits into its formal training programs.
About Loft Dynamics
Loft Dynamics is the global leader in virtual reality pilot training and the only company with VR flight simulators qualified by the Federal Aviation Administration, European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Japan Civil Aviation Bureau. Trusted by Airbus Helicopters, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Indocopters and other aviation organizations worldwide, Loft serves aircraft operators, OEMs, training organizations and government agencies across civil and public-service aviation. Our mission is to make high-quality, immersive pilot training safer, more accessible and scalable. With full-motion VR simulators roughly 10 times smaller and significantly more cost-effective than conventional full-flight simulators, we are expanding where advanced simulation can be deployed and who can access it. Loft also provides a connected training system that extends beyond the simulator through at-home practice, virtual instruction and AI- and data-driven training intelligence. Learn more at LoftDynamics.com.
About Pathfinder Aviation
Since 2001, Pathfinder Aviation has been providing helicopter support services to various remote locations in Alaska under FAA-issued Part 133, 135 and 137 operating certificates. The company operates a fleet of 22 aircraft: 18 AS 350's, and four Bell 212’s and averages 8,000 flight hours annually. With 35 pilots, 40 mechanics and 17 administrative/support personnel, Pathfinder provides support to remote Alaska, the lower 48, and Antarctica with a principal focus on austere operations and precision external load support.
READ MORE ROTOR PRO: https://justhelicopters.com/Magazine
WATCH ROTOR PRO YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://buff.ly/3Md0T3y
You can also find us on
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rotorpro1
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rotorpro1
Twitter - https://twitter.com/justhelicopters