GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Simulation suite developed by Boeing and L-3 Link to be declared ready at end of month
Instructor training is under way at Tyndall AFB, Florida, where the first US Air Force Lockheed Martin/Boeing F/A-22 Raptor stealth fighter arrived last month. Tyndall will be the training base for F/A-22 pilots, and the comprehensive simulation suite developed by Boeing and L-3 Link will be declared ready for training at the end of this month.
Seven pilot training devices have been delivered to Tyndall: two full mission trainers (FMT), four weapon tactics trainers (WTT) and an egress procedures trainer (EPT). "The devices were installed on schedule, in advance of aircraft delivery," says Pam Valdez, Boeing F/A-22 training system manager. The trainers match the Block 3.1.0 software standard in Raptor 18, the first to arrive at Tyndall. "We will upgrade to 3.1.2 when the aircraft gets that load," she says.
"Pilots go through an instructor-led academic lesson then into the WTTs in the classroom to run through a structured mission in the cockpit," says Norm Riegsecker, F/A-22 pilot training system manager. "We turn academic knowledge into skills in the classroom using the WTT. The FMT then applies those skills to tasks, allowing the pilot to demonstrate proficiency before flying the aircraft." There is no two-seat F/A-22. The EPT is used to teach normal and emergency ingress and egress procedures before first flight.
Boeing is responsible for courseware development. "The courseware is intensive and elaborate, bringing the equipment into a structured environment," says Valdez. "The academics are heavily infiltrated with aircraft systems, and all graphics use the Catia design data." Rehosting and reuse of aircraft software is more extensive than in previous training systems, says Howard Hines, L-3 F/A-22 programme director. The FMT and WTT share the same basic software load, but the full-mission trainer has a higher-fidelity cockpit and 360° visual display.
Boeing/L-3 will install 75 F/A-22 pilot and maintenance training devices at six bases. The Tyndall schoolhouse will have four FMTs and 23 WTTs, and each squadron will get two WTTs for use as unit-level training devices. L-3's Link Training & Simulation division is under contract to build four FMTs and 15 WTTs. The FMTs will be networked to enable training in the USAF's standard four-ship operations, and Boeing/L-3 is under contract to study networking the F/A-22 devices with other USAF simulators.
Source: Flight International
