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Little Arms Studios has partnered with the Texas Department of Public Safety to enhance unmanned aircraft system training operations through the deployment of the Zephyr Drone Simulator.
Facing the challenge of ensuring operator proficiency across 268,000 square miles, program administrators sought an easy-to-use solution capable of providing backend reporting and basic instruction prior to onsite training. The UAV simulator uses real-world physics and an expanding library of training modules to replicate the exact environments and flight characteristics that pilots face daily.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has successfully integrated the flight simulator software to streamline preparation for the NIST Open Lane Test and other mission-based training. By utilizing standard department-issued laptops, the department has established a remote training opportunity that allows pilots to master NIST fundamentals and basic flight maneuvers before attending in-person academies. The system is both controller and drone-agnostic, allowing the agency to simulate its entire fleet while tracking performance through a built-in learning management system.
Jason Day, Director of Unmanned Aircraft, Texas Department of Public Safety, said, “When you’re looking at any type of simulator there has to be a lot of realism so when you transition from the simulator to actual stick time the learning curve is reduced. That’s one of the things we liked about the Zephyr software – it allowed multiple scenarios that were very realistic, and we found it to be a really good analog for the real world.
“We found that once we incorporated the fight simulator into our training, the amount of time it took to complete the NIST test was reduced by five minutes. The average fight time used to be right around 30 minutes to complete all five NIST tests. It has been reduced to 24 to 25 minutes for all of our pilots, and this has stayed consistent across three different RPIC schools. So we know this is working.”
The department has achieved measurable improvements in training outcomes, including heightened pilot confidence and reduced risk to public equipment. Administrators use the LMS/Data tracking features to evaluate student progress by reviewing flight time, crashes, FAA violations, scores, and positional data. This comprehensive reporting allows instructors to pinpoint individual strengths and weaknesses, ensuring a shift toward higher quality training.
Read Transforming UAS Training within Texas DPS with Zephyr Drone Simulator.
