Canadian Mixed Reality Flight Simulator Manufacturer Reports Early PPL Training Results from ImMRsiv C172

Canada – Canada Training Solutions, Inc. (CTS Aero) has reported that two students at partner flight school Prairie Aviation Training Centre (PATC) completed their Private Pilot Licence training with 52 and 48 total loggable flight hours respectively after incorporating the ImMRsiv C172 Mixed Reality Flight Simulation Training Device into their training. The early results support CTS's central proposition for ImMRsiv: better preparation before each flight can allow more of the paid aircraft session to be used for purposeful practical training, potentially reducing aircraft, fuel and instructor costs.

• The flight hours logged are both relatively close to Transport Canada's regulatory minimum of 45 hours of private pilot flight training. Canadian regulations permit a maximum of five of those 45 hours to be conducted on an approved aeroplane simulator or flight training device.
• The commercial relevance is the potential reduction in actual aircraft utilization rather than simply replacing aircraft hours one-for-one with simulator credit. ImMRsiv is designed to let students rehearse manoeuvres, procedures and lessons before entering the aircraft, with CTS positioning the device around improving preparation and allowing instructors to use aircraft time for skills that require live flying.
• CTS compared the results with a stated Canadian national average of 85 hours to complete a PPL. Its current ImMRsiv website separately cites an average of 83 flight hours as of 2024.
• PATC is participating in a Transport Canada Simulation/XR Pilot Project examining the use of mixed reality flight training devices in Canadian pilot training. Mission Aviation Fellowship Canada, which operates PATC in partnership with Prairie College, states that the school's simulators are being used to gather data on student competency and training outcomes while Transport Canada considers potential new training pathways.
• The ImMRsiv C172 itself is still progressing through the Canadian regulatory process. MAF states that CTS is working toward Transport Canada certification of the C172 device.
• PATC currently lists two ImMRsiv Cessna 172 simulators and one ImMRsiv Cessna Caravan simulator alongside a Redbird FMX, Redbird SD and Redbird Crosswind trainer. Its aircraft fleet comprises four Cessna 172Ms, one American Champion Citabria, one Cessna R182, one Cessna 210L and one Piper Seneca II.
• ImMRsiv combines a mixed reality head-mounted display with physical cockpit controls, force-feedback flight controls, aircraft-specific flight modelling and motion and vibration cues. CTS is also developing the wider ImMRsiv ecosystem around standardized lesson preparation, automated coaching and performance analytics, intended to give students more repeatable practice before live flying and reduce instructor-to-instructor variation.
• The training-efficiency proposition is particularly relevant for flight schools because reducing the amount of aircraft time required for a student to reach competency can lower exposure to fuel, maintenance and aircraft availability constraints.

About Canada Training Solutions, Inc.
Canada Training Solutions, operating as CTS Aero, is a Calgary, Alberta-based aviation training technology company focused on flight simulation, training program development and the adoption of new training technologies. Its ImMRsiv product is a mixed reality flight simulation platform intended for flight schools, military training organisations and other aviation training users. The company is also developing AI-supported assessment capability for ImMRsiv; in 2026 it received an NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program contribution of C$83,788 for work on an AI-enabled mixed-reality training platform covering recognition and evaluation of 45 pilot-training manoeuvres.

Source: CTS Aero