MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Airmen often hear the phrase “train how we fight” throughout their careers, meaning maximum effort must be put into training so they can accomplish the same when down range.
Lack of time, funds or opportunities can occasionally prevent some Airmen from receiving adequate training. With the new HC-130J Combat King II flight simulator fully operational, aircrews at Moody won’t have to worry about those obstacles after March 10.
“The primary mission of the simulator is to provide aircrew with realistic training,” said Michael Kufrovich, 347th Operation Support Squadron flight simulator project officer. “This will refine their checklist procedures, crew resource management, muscle memory and situational awareness, but at a heaper cost to the government, who will no longer have to provide fuel for the aircraft to fly.”
The simulator is more cost effective and provides a safe way for aircrew to practice unusual training scenarios.
“It gives aircrew the ability to make mistakes without loss of life or assets,” said Kufrovich. “[During flight], the operator can always hit the reset button and start things over if the aircrew doesn’t get it right the first time, but when they go down range they have to be ready.”
To make it realistic, the multimillion dollar simulator is programmed to display graphics of airspaces all over the world and mimics the movement of the actual aircraft.
“It’s very realistic,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Gallagher, 347th OSS director of operations. “You think about how good the visuals are on [video games] and those are $500 systems, so imagine how good the visuals in a multi-million dollar simulator [look].”
The simulator operates like a three dimensional amusement ride, often seen in the mall or at a county fair. Participants step into a virtual world and the simulator moves in response to what they see.
“I’ll admit, the first time I got into the sim I was surprised at how it was able to replicate turbulence and the feeling of flying,” said 1st Lt. Kevin Rivera, 71st Rescue Squadron HC-130J pilot. “It’s a full motion simulator so every time you turn, you get those effects in your inner ear canals and it does feel like you’re actually flying.”
The simulator operator can input external factors that could affect the aircraft to keep the aircrew on their toes, but in a way that won’t jeopardize their safety.
“Sometimes the planes have maintenance issues, and lots of times in South Georgia, there are weather issues, so that makes actual planes unavailable,” said Gallagher. “The simulator is almost always available and you can put the aircrews into almost any situation, expose them to bad weather or threats that you wouldn’t be able to train for in a real aircraft [because it wouldn’t be a] safe training environment.”
Kufrovich added that with the simulator being almost always available, it gives aircrew the opportunity to accomplish 98 percent of the requirements needed to maintain proficiency on the aircraft.
“The simulator gives us the ability to hop in an aircraft with an aircrew and log off [training tasks] that we typically aren’t able to do in a regular flight,” said Capt. Brendan De Brun, 71st Rescue Squadron HC-130J pilot. “It saves money, saves time and keeps the entire unit up to speed.”
Using the ability to fly multiple missions in a day without ever leaving Moody, the flight simulator also means less reliance on aircraft for day-to-day training. This will make it easier for aircrew to upgrade in their skill levels and gain more responsibility.
With the simulator providing a safe training environment and being more cost and time efficient, maximum training opportunities for the 71st RQS will almost always be available.