Parachute troops are leaping into the virtual world thanks to a £500,000 piece of potentially life-saving equipment.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) unveiled its latest piece of equipment, the state-of-the-art Virtual Reality Parachute Trainer (VRPT2), which is designed to bridge the gap between dry training and live jumps.
The “pivotal” piece of equipment will help members of the armed forces master the art of parachute-jumping by showing them exactly what it is like lining up in the back of the plane, jumping out and landing safely.
The virtual trainer uses the latest digital imagery to create a realistic virtual world to train service personnel.
It will be used by students after their hangar-training but before the advanced stages of their first live jump.
It simulates a number of emergency situations so the parachutist can practise drills realistically in the safety of the simulation.
The parachute training school at RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, had the £500,000 VRPT2 signed off in January and the first official course is due to take place in March.
Parachute students are suspended by a harness and wear virtual reality goggles to practise jumps in a range of realistic environments.
Instructors are able to simulate rain, fog and snow and can choose any time of day or night, or adjust the wind speed and direction to make the descent more challenging.
The simulator will be used to train any member of the armed forces who is required to use a parachute.
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