Companion Trainer Aircraft: Concept Definition and Evaluation

Faced with increasing budget constraints and a need to conserve the B-52 weapon system, the Strategic Air Command has pursued several avenues to make continuation training programs more efficient. Because actual flight training is considered to be critical, one proposed solution involved the use of a low cost business jet to supplement reduced B-52 flying schedules. This jet would be augmented to provide training for the radar navigator, navigator, and electronic warfare officer in addition to the pilot and copilot. Some training missions would be flown in this Companion Trainer Aircraft (CTA) to reduce the need to fly the B-52. This paper describes two efforts concerning training effectiveness of a possible CTA. First, a theoretical approach based on transfer of training considerations was used to predict the training potential of the CTA. Second, because the transfer expectations for the pilot and copilot were particularly difficult to specify, a study was designed involving operational SAC crews. This study employed a modified T-39B to supplement B-52 training for eight aircrews from the 2nd Bombardment Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, LA. Although the CTA program was cancelled and the test was terminated early, crew responses to the program and problems encountered provide valuable lessons for any future CTA program.

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Vulnerabilities of the Romanian Air Force pilot training system manifested in the flight training process

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201929013008 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 290 ◽

pp. 13008

Author(s):

Eduard Ionut Mihai ◽

Ioan Dănut Balos

Keyword(s):

Air Force ◽

Training Group ◽

Training System ◽

Flight Training ◽

Pilot Training ◽

Practical Training ◽

Training Process ◽

Flight Instruction ◽

Air Force Base ◽

State Of Affairs

The vulnerability of a flight instruction system is understood as a state of affairs, processes or phenomena in the organization’s internal life that diminishes its ability to react to existing or potential changes. Starting from the results of previous research conducted by the authors, the article aims to highlight the need for new ways to train Air Force pilots and suggests possible solutions. The purpose of this study is thus to identify the areas of vulnerability proper to the organization providing the training by synthesizing survey results based on the subjects’ professional experience. Accordingly, we deemed necessary and at the same time pertinent to consider the opinions of the staff involved in the practical training process. For this reason, the evaluation carried out between June and July 2018 involved the Aviation Training Group at “Aurel Vlaicu” Air Force Base.

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SAC at Thule: Greenland in U.S. Polar Strategy

Journal of Cold War Studies ◽

10.1162/jcws_a_00138 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 90-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Nikolaj Petersen

Keyword(s):

Air Force ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Strategic Air Command ◽

Force Unit ◽

Air Force Base ◽

B 52 ◽

And Training ◽

The U.S

This article discusses the so-called polar strategy of the U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC) from 1958, when SAC decided to build Thule Air Force Base in Greenland, until 1968, when Airborne Alert flights over Greenland were abandoned after a fully armed B-52 crashed near Thule. The article traces the implementation of the polar strategy from a “bottom-up” perspective, concentrating on deployments and rotations to Thule and training missions and operations out of Thule. The analysis, based on U.S. Air Force unit histories and Danish military reports, shows that the early polar strategy operated under difficult conditions but gradually became more feasible. In 1957 the strategy was implemented at Thule, but paradoxically it did not come to full fruition until the introduction of the B-52, which was not dependent on support from Thule. By 1960, SAC had left Thule, the emblem of the early polar strategy, but SAC bombers continued to fly missions in Greenland's airspace until 1968.

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Development of a Simulator Certification (Simcert) Methodology for SAC

Proceedings of the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/107118138102500118 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 69-73

Author(s):

George M. Houtman ◽

K. Ronald Laughery ◽

Jan L. Ditzian

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Phase I ◽

Student Performance ◽

Air Force ◽

Phase Ii ◽

Effective Medium ◽

Full Scale ◽

Weapon System ◽

B 52

Air Force Regulation 50-11 (October 1977) requires that all new and existing aircrew training devices be certified with regard to their ability to provide an effective medium for training and evaluating student performance on specific aircrew training events (SIMCERT). The regulation further requires each using command to develop its own supplement, to guide command-specific programs. Calspan Corporation and the 93 BMW ISD Division joined in developing the Strategic Air Command's SIMCERT program. Phase I was a developmental effort involving literature review, determining SIMCERT objectives and constraints, and developing candidate methodologies. Two SIMCERT methodologies were developed: one for initial qualification training, and one for continuation training. During Phase II, parts of the initial qualification SIMCERT methodology were validated on the Boom Operator Part Task Trainer at Castle AFB, California. This validation effort showed that the methodology met SAC SIMCERT objectives and could be applied using existing resources. The SAC SIMCERT supplement is currently in draft form and will be completed in time for full-scale application to the B-52 and KC-135 Weapon System Trainers.

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