A Four-Step Program The mission of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB is to train Air Force, Marine, Navy and international partner operators and maintainers of the F-35 Lightning II. Aircraft maintenance trainees follow a process that incorporates traditional classroom instruction, virtual learning and hands-on hardware training. As Major Karen L. Roganov explained: “We have a four-step approach to producing F-35 maintainers. When a student comes to Eglin to train on the F-35, they start in an academic training center that’s a schoolhouse megacenter with state-of-the-art trainers. Besides the trainers themselves, what also is unique is that this environment was built with the next 50 years in mind. It mimics an Ivy League campus—lovely dormitories with all the amenities. “The first process for maintainers is foundational knowledge, where they get acquainted with what they’re going to learn. It’s a lot of overview—blackboard-type work, but with electronics. “The second tier is working in the aircraft system maintenance trainer, which means sitting at a computer console with two screens: one representing the aircraft, and the other representing virtual tools and tech manuals. The trainer has an avatar that the student moves around. They get a task for a day—say it’s to change some hydraulic line—so they check out the virtual tool they need and review the data in the virtual instruction manual.
Kratos uses Augmented Reality, which combines 3-D technology with physical elements of the real world. For example, if a student is being trained on the various components of a UH-60 transmission, he will be able to hold a tablet computer up to the aircraft, as if taking a picture of it. Once the camera recognizes the shape of the specific platform, a 3-D overlay of the transmission components would appear on the tablet screen in the exact location it would be on the aircraft. This simulation provides the students a better understanding of the physical size and location of the components without having to actually remove any parts. “The tablet has simulation built in that replicates everything in the aircraft,” Diaz explained. “The maintainer wants to be able to locate a certain component in the entire flight system, and the tablet allows him to do that.” Training that embeds virtual technology into a hardware device is cutting edge. With tablet computers, students working on an airplane can see what the eye might not be able to see unless 30 percent of the plane was removed. “The tablet has simulation built in that replicates everything in the aircraft,” Diaz explained. “The maintainer wants to be able to locate a certain component in the entire flight system, and the tablet allows him to do that.” Despite its clear benefits, virtual technology has not been universally embraced. “Most militaries are well aware of the economic and training benefits of simulation for flight training; it is less expensive, safer and offers the ability to practice and rehearse situations that cannot be done in the real aircraft,” said Denice Guimond, senior manager, maintenance training business development, CAE. “Some of these same benefits, though, can be applied to maintenance training.” Ariotti suspects that point will become clearer as virtual technology solves more dilemmas such as the one Disti’s customer Oshkosh 22 | MT2 18.1
“Virtual learning requires 100 percent compliance. You don’t move on to the next task until you learn how to do it all correctly; you can’t skip a step. Each classroom has 12 students and two instructors wearing headsets—one at the front where he can see what everyone is doing, and the other roving around to answer questions. The environment is very learner-centric. It’s not one guy at the front of the room waving his arms and talking a lot. “After they finish virtual practice in the maintenance trainer, they go on to the third step, which is life-sized trainers. We have big bays the size of aircraft hangars where they work on a weapons load trainer or an ejection seat maintenance trainer, or practice tasks like removing a seat from the cockpit. The benefits of being in these big bays are that you don’t have to take aircraft off the flying schedule, and you don’t have to cancel training when there’s thunder and lightning on the runway. Also, we have training 24/7, with two shifts to accommodate students. Working in bays gives a lot more accessibility without being on the flight line. “The fourth step is aircraft hands-on training, where students work on a live flight line. Because, after all, every maintainer is going to tell you that [simulator] trainers are excellent, but the students need to touch a jet.”
Developed by Disti for the Oshkosh Corporation’s Training Center, the M978 Fuel Trainer teaches fueling and defueling procedures in a safe and effective manner. This virtual trainer replaced over 300 PowerPoint slides, giving the instructors a powerful interactive teaching tool. [Photo courtesy of Disti]
encountered in how to train gas-pumpers on one of its tanker trucks. The initial 300-slide PowerPoint presentation was “mind-numbing,” Ariotti said. Practicing fuel transfer in a classroom was dangerous, and practicing with water would have been destructive to the fuel lines. “They were really stuck on a good way to do training, so along came this technology and our solution,” he said. Judging from experiences such as those, Ariotti, like others, has no doubt that virtual technology represents the future of maintenance training. “The folks who haven’t seen it before are getting exposed and want more,” he said. “The market is going to have a hard time keeping up with the demand as it becomes more prevalent.” O For more information, contact MT2 Editor Brian O’Shea at briano@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mt2-kmi.com.
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