High-G Training And Test Facility At RAF Cranwell Open For Business

The U.K. MoD Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, has opened the High-G training and test facility at RAF Cranwell.

The £44 million ($57 million) project is used by fast jet pilots in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to replicate flight in aircraft such as the Hawk, Typhoon and new F-35 Lightning aircraft. Pilots are able to experience up to 9G to learn how to use their specialized in-cockpit flying equipment to help them cope with these stresses. The centrifuge can accelerate up to 9G in one second and rotate up to 34 times a minute.

The new facility revolutionizes High-G training. as pilots are not simply strapped into the device and exposed to G-force but are able to ‘fly’ as they would in a flight simulator as the pilot maneuvers the aircraft and applies the G-force.

'By exposing our Typhoon, Lightning and Hawk pilots to High-G forces in a tailor-made and completely controlled environment, we are significantly enhancing safety in the air and making a major contribution to our operational effectiveness," said Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal, Sir Stephen Hillier. "Today represents another major milestone in the RAF’s impressive modernization program.'

Pilots benefit from a cockpit which closely represents that of their normal aircraft enabling them to carry out multiple training scenarios from air-to-air combat to dealing with in-bound missile threats. The device will also be used to trial and test new equipment to be used on fast jet aircraft and by the pilots. This will also ensure that the testing is done in a benign environment before being trialled in live flight.

'This new and exciting facility is replacing the High-G trainer which until recently was used by Defence; that dates from the 1950s and no longer matches the performance of the modern fast jet aircraft such as the F-35 and Typhoon," said Director Air Support at DE&S, Richard Murray. "The centrifuge is capable of accelerating up to 9-G in just one second, but rather than just sitting in it, the replica, flyable cockpit delivers realistic and immersive training, helping to simulate real-life missions while teaching pilots to deal with acceleration and High G-forces.'

The new facility at RAF Cranwell is used by fast jet pilots progressing through the UK Military Flying Training System and into their flying careers. Fast jet pilots will refresh their training at least every 5 years to keep them as safe as possible and current in the techniques used to handle High-G forces in flight.

The RAF Center of Aviation Medicine is using the facility to train aircrew to recognise the effects of G-force, develop awareness of it and learn the physical techniques needed to counter the effects on their bodies during combat missions. Up to 300 aircrew will receive training on the centrifuge each year.

The 39-metric ton centrifuge built by Thales U.K. has seen the company team up with world leading centrifuge specialists AMST from Austria to design and build the equipment. Thales has been training RAF aircrew since the 1930s providing over 300 complex simulators for 60 different platforms.

(Images provided with U.K. Ministry of Defense news release)

FMI: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence