DiSTI and JF Taylor Launch Mixed-Reality Maintenance Trainer

The DiSTI Corporation, the world’s leading provider of virtual training solutions, in partnership with JF Taylor, announced the launch of the CH-47 Chinook Mixed-Reality (MR) Maintenance Trainer. This groundbreaking system combines real aircraft hardware with immersive virtual simulation to deliver scalable, cost-effective maintenance training for military technicians.

Developed to address the high cost and limited accessibility of traditional maintenance devices, the MR system integrates DiSTI’s VE Studio platform with JF Taylor’s ruggedized hardware expertise to provide hands-on realism and procedural depth in a compact, deployable footprint. The trainer enables tactile interaction with repurposedCH-47 Control Display Units (CDUs), whether functional or non-functional, embedded within a fully interactive digital cockpit environment.

A key benefit of this approach is the significant reduction in hardware dependency and infrastructure requirements. Traditional full-scale maintenance trainers often require operational aircraft components and dedicated physical space, limiting availability and increasing cost. This MR trainer operates with legacy hardware, either functional or non-functional, extending the lifecycle value of existing assets and reducing the total cost of ownership.

“This solution represents a major step forward in how defense organizations and the military approach technical training,” said John Hayward, CEO of The DiSTI Corporation. “By combining physical aircraft components with a dynamic virtual environment, we’ve created a scalable platform that delivers realistic practice and data-driven performance insights, without the logistical challenges of traditional full-scale trainers.”

Blending Realism with Flexibility

The MR trainer allows students to interact with authentic controls while executing preflight, postflight, operation, and maintenance procedures in a high-fidelity virtual model. The system records user actions in real time, enabling both automated performance analytics and instructor-guided feedback.

The system’s compact footprint allows it to be deployed in distributed training environments with limited space or logistical support, making it especially useful for sustainment and field-based training. Multiple units can operate concurrently, increasing throughput without requiring additional aircraft or simulator bays.

Proven Benefits and Real-World Impact

From a learning standpoint, the combined physical-virtual interaction improves student engagement, learning, and retention. Research in the field of human performance and technical training supports the effectiveness of multimodal instruction inbuilding procedural memory and diagnostic capability. The DiSTI MR trainer supports this by engaging both cognitive and motor functions through realistic interfaces and interactive visualization.

Instructor feedback gathered during early evaluations indicates that students are more confident and better prepared when transitioning to live equipment after using the MR system. Performance data collected during sessions has also been used to refine lesson pacing, reduce training time, and improve remediation strategies.

“Partnering with DiSTI allowed us to merge our systems integration expertise with DiSTI’s proven VE Studio technology,” said Chris Wasniak, COO of JF Taylor. “The result is a rugged, adaptable trainer that gives maintainers a realistic, tactile experience anywhere, whether in a classroom, in the field, or on deployment which drives readiness into our warfighters.”

If you would like to learn more about JF Taylor’s capabilities and solutions, please visit www.jfti.com

For individuals seeking to learn more about Virtual Maintenance Training and the solutions provided by DiSTI, please reach out to sales@disti.com