B-52 simulator ready at all times

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman La'Shanette V. Garrett
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  The B-52 simulator plays an important role in the mission at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., by allowing aircrew to experience the real-life realm of flying the B-52 during training.

The simulator provides aircrew members with a unique training advantage which gives them the opportunity to participate in a computer created virtual world, cockpit time, practice emergency procedures, air refueling and other malfunctions without even launching a B-52.

"The overall mission of the simulator is to relieve the use of the aircraft for training," said Kent Woosley, B-52 Aircrew Training Devices project officer. "Not only does it save us (the military) money and utilization of other resources, but also when it comes to practicing emergency procedures--you'd rather do that in a simulator than in an aircraft."

The simulator was originally designed in the 1960's, with some of the original technology still being used today.

"We are slowly evolving into getting rid of all the very old technology in the simulators," said Woosley. "Some have a mix between digital and old, but it all will be modified in about a year."

Although the simulator is a great training tool for the crew members, another unique capability is the instructor can sit at the consoles allowing one-on-one training until the crew member is proficient with the procedures.

"The instructor informs us of what to key in for the malfunctions as they watch the students recover," said Tom White, systems operator. "The training they receive in the simulator, they can't do in the aircraft safely, and plus it's cheaper to run the simulator than the aircraft. Our role is to set the air crew up for their training and give them the mission they ask for and ensure all the aircraft simulator computers are loaded."

Woosley estimates it costs only one percent of the cost to use the simulator than to fly the B-52, and the contract held with Rockwell Collins frees up military personnel as they are able to go out to handle the real-world mission instead of manning the simulator.

"We have a highly experienced team of 32 employees who run the simulator for Rockwell," said Woosley. "They provide all the maintenance and logistics support for the simulators. They have a requirement to maintain 95 percent availability to the government which means the simulators must be available for use 95 percent of the time. But these contractors are so experienced we are running at a 99.8 percent availability rate."

As the B-52 has undergone numerous modifications and upgrades, the simulator has kept pace ensuring the trainer cockpit looks and feels like the real aircraft.

"Whatever is happening to the airplane is happening to the simulator--so it's constantly evolving," said Woosley. "With the Barksdale mission of putting bombs on targets, it all comes back to the simulator training the crew members receive. We are here to provide the platform to make sure it's ready for them at all times."