As we all know helicopter pilot training is easy for organists and circus acrobats who are used to coordinating hands and feet in ways we didn’t think possible. In other words: most folks will have trouble during the initial few hours of helicopter pilot training and while practicing emergency maneuvers.
But how to train safely in a simulated but realistic environment?
Enter the not so mad Max Planck Institute guys from the Biological Cybernetics department who partnered with Heli Aviation GmbH to create a safe and effective training platform. The used a heavy industrial six-axis Kuka with a carrying capacity of 500kg to which they attached the cockpit of a Cabri G2 helicopter.
So how does it work?
The advantage of this setup means that all critical flight phases, landings and auto-rotations can be repeated as often as required right up to the inevitable crash without intervention from the instructor…
Pilots in training can now really see what will happen when incorrect flight control inputs are not corrected immediately.
The Heli Trainer is the only industrial robot certified in the world to carry passengers!
Would you entrust your life to this monster?
Let us know in the Comments.