Innovation brings aircrew training into new era

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Madelyn Ottem
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Travis C-17 Globemaster III pilots are scheduled to be some of the first flyers in the Air Force to experience an innovative training system within the next year. It will connect them to other Air Force C-17 simulators across the United States virtually.

Travis is one of 10 bases that, through Mobility Air Force Distributed Mission Operations, will utilize mobility simulators over a secure network.

"With the advent of new high definition projector systems and blazing high speed secure internet connectivity, the line between actual and simulated distributed flight is blurring beyond belief," said Bryan Burns, 60th Operations Support Squadron C-5 aircrew training systems project officer/quality assurance representative. "The sky is no longer the limit for our modern aircrews."

This system will provide a means of conducting virtual training with multiple aircraft, said Mark Parsons, Mobility Branch Simulator Division MAF DMO project manager. In essence, mobility Airmen from different installations will be able to train together like a flight.

The network will connect the simulators through a distributed training center, the first of which is being stood up at Scott Air Force Base.

By Dec. 13, all C-17 training sites are scheduled to be connected through DTC.

According to Parsons, the advancements don't stop at the C-17 training simulators. By the end of the next fiscal year two KC-10 Extender bases, one of which being Travis, and two KC-135 Stratotanker bases will have simulators connected to the DTC. This will enable virtual air-refueling missions.

"MAF DMO will allow aircrews to train in a secure, realistic threat environment that enables live, virtual and constructive participation in a wide range of mobility Air Force, joint and coalition exercises," Parsons said.

"One great advantage DMO provides is the ability to schedule Air Refueling missions without actual aircraft, independent of weather conditions, aircraft maintenance status or real-world airframe requirements," Burns said. "During routine air-refuel missions, tanker and receiver aircraft consume approximately 40,000 pounds of fuel every hour of flight. Nearly 6,000 gallons of jet propulsion fuel is devoured every 60 minutes at roughly $19,000 per flight hour."

While training simulators are already an asset to the Air Force because they mitigate fuel costs and wear and tear on aircraft, the vision of MAF DMO is to extend cost effectiveness and enhance global outreach through a network of live, virtual and constructive training capabilities.

"Beyond the monumental savings in fuel, aircrew members can rehearse complex rendezvous procedures as well as a host of in-flight malfunctions, demanding enough at cruise altitude but considerably more challenging when you consider both aircraft are less than 20 feet apart at speeds approaching 300 knots," Burns said. "There is not much margin for error."

Plans, coordination and funding for the MAF DMO program will continue long term, with the goal of wide spread use of the system across the Air Force.

"In the next five years the MAF DMO program will connect more than 120 training devices from more than 40 locations providing the backbone for virtual training in the Mobility Air Force," Parsons said. "This will set the stage for future connectivity with combat Air Force platforms as well as special operations platforms, truly enabling a new era in aircrew training."