Technology Marches On...

After 26 years of training thousands of pilots, the last full-motion T-38A Talon simulators at Randolph AFB has been retired.

The once state-of-the-art equipment is being replaced by virtual reality trainers (below), designed to reproduce the cockpit of the new T-38C aircraft.

Ron Hamada, now a training manager at the Air Education and Training Command’s directorate of operations, was involved in the installation of the first full-motion T-38A simulators in 1978.

"They were top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art systems then," Hamada said. "They replaced an earlier, non-motion link trainer that lacked the desired realism."

To properly copy the aircraft, the old T-38A simulator had cockpits for the instructor and student pilot, each equipped with all the analog gauges and controls found in the real aircraft. The simulator controller sat at a console about 40 feet away where he or she observed the mission and controlled training through a custom computer and work station. A television system in front of each cockpit gave visual images of what would be visible outside the cockpit.

As the mission progressed, the whole cockpit moved in response to the program and the student's stick inputs. Hydraulic cylinders, powered by a 75-horsepower engine and drawing from a 500-gallon oil storage tank in another room, moved the cockpit’s platform. Each piston was capable of quickly extending as much as 56 inches.

The complexity of the system posed many operational and maintenance challenges, said Joe Rippke, 12th Operations Support Squadron’s ground training flight program manager.

"When the system worked, which was most of the time, it was great," he said. "But when the valves malfunctioned, the ride could get wild."

The new trainers are based on virtual reality concepts. The student is given a 180-degree image around and above the front of the cockpit. As the student "maneuvers" the trainer, the visual images respond graphically to what the aircraft would be doing. The simulator operator sits behind the student and can talk over the student's shoulder, which allows a degree of instructor-student feedback not possible in the old system.

But the underlying reason for the change is the new trainer is similar to the new T-38 aircraft. The new aircraft features improved avionics and support systems,  Rippke said. This makes it closer in design to F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-22 Raptor cockpits.

"A training system has to prepare the pilots for the aircraft they'll fly,"  Rippke said. "The old full-motion simulators don't present the new cockpit and, in the final analysis, the motion part of the training environment was exciting, but wasn't necessary to accomplish the training goals. So this is the time to make the change."

The new trainers are a lot smaller and are controlled by a personal computer capable of sophisticated animations to add realism and training options. The instructor can even inject a "wingman" into the scenario to add the challenges of formation flying.

The cost of operating and maintaining the new equipment is much less than the old systems,  Rippke said.

The conversion to T-38C aircraft here will be completed by August, so this is the time to install the new trainers,  Rippke said.

"We will have two operational flight trainers and one unit training device on line and expect to keep them running 16 hours a day to meet the student load," he said.

(ANN salutes Bob Hieronymus, 12th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs)

FMI: www.af.mil