KC-135 flight simulator provides optimal, versatile training

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Justine Rho
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England – The view of the flight line disappears as the plane takes off into blue skies and ideal flying weather. The aircrew of the KC-135 Stratotanker is embarking on a flight without stepping outside of a building, because they are flying in a flight simulator. Ironically, the weather forecast in England is mostly cloudy and 37 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pilots assigned to the 351st Air Refueling Squadron at RAF Mildenhall must maintain their flight currency by completing various training requirements. With the high operational tempo of the 100th Air Refueling Wing mission, which covers U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, it would be demanding to have flyers maintain currency primarily on tanker flights.

For FY 2017, the RAF Mildenhall KC-135 flight simulator was utilized for 2,180.8 hours while training 1,044 crewmembers from the 351st ARS, stateside units on duty here and foreign militaries.

“Aircrew attend simulation events at least twice a year; typically accomplishing four or five simulation flights each semester,” said Capt. Matthew Boatman, 351st ARS chief of standardization and evaluation. “As early as (undergraduate) pilot training, simulators have been essential to learning everything from basic checklist steps to mission-critical skillsets. The simulators provide nearly unlimited potential to train pilots in real-time emergency situations that are not able to be simulated in the aircraft.”

Flight simulators create a low-risk training environment, which enables crewmembers to hone in on flight standards, but also significantly impacts the costs of training.

“The cost-savings to the Air Force in utilizing simulators over flight time is truly tremendous,” Boatman explained. “The KC-135 costs approximately $15,000 per flight hour to operate, while running the KC-135 simulator costs around $300. The simulator here is certified to Federal Aviation Administration Level C equivalency, resulting in a real enough simulation for all instrument currency requirements to count, including takeoff and landing.”

James Williamson, 100th Operations Support Squadron project officer quality assurance representative, is the liaison between Air Force management of the sim and its contractors. Williamson knows first-hand the demand for sim flight hours, cost-savings and the effectiveness of its training capabilities.

Since the installment of the KC-135 simulator in 2001, the training investment has undergone several advancements that coincide with updates on its aircraft counterpart.

“There have been numerous upgrades and modification to increase the training capability,” Williamson said. “For instance, the visual systems and the motion legs have been upgraded to make training more realistic. The sim is upgraded just as the aircraft is – when new software or equipment is installed on the aircraft, typically those changes are reflected in the sim before the aircraft is done. This way, the aircrew is able to familiarize with the modifications.”

Williamson oversees the scheduling, maintenance and rightful usage of the simulator. The scheduling office at the flying squadron will request sim time based on training requirements monitored by the standardization and evaluation office. Flight hours in the simulator are scheduled and require preflight preparations just as operational flights.

At this time, boom operators are sent to MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, to complete training in the Boom Operator Weapons System Trainer because RAF Mildenhall does not have their specific simulator.

“We are currently working for the BOWST to be up and running here by summer of 2018,” Williamson said. “That will massively increase our ability to provide quality training, especially for newer boom operators training for operational proficiency.”