F-35 INSTRUCTOR GETTING IN HIGH GEAR AT EGLIN AFB

As you will read, Eglin AFB is getting serious about their F-35 Training Program. With all of the talk about the Army's 7th Special Forces Group coming, the news of the F-35 Training Program gets lost. I expect that will change shortly. As people will become aware, this program will have as much of an impact to our local economy, if not more, very quickly. The affect of this program will be felt around the globe because of the international participation in this state of the art fighter jet.


Mona Moore
2010-05-27 21:30:01
EGLIN AFB — With a series of training devices, software and instructors in place, the F-35 Joint Training School is ready for a dry run. After months of preparations, the F-35 team of instructor pilots and engineers will be testing the school curriculum on those slated to fly the planes first: the instructors. The dry run will not only prepare the instructors for their initial flights but test the syllabi they had a hand in preparing. Though the initial operational capability (IOC) – the date the F-35 program is expected to be at full capacity with 59 aircraft – has been pushed back to 2015, the school will be operational by this fall. “IOC isn’t driving what we’re doing here,” said Col. David Hlatky, commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing. “Operational testing and 33FW core cadre haven’t changed. We still plan to have them trained next year.” Hlatky has spent the last few months getting his staff to stop looking at calendars and thinking about the IOC. In its infancy, the F-35 training school has plenty of work to do before changes in the IOC will have any effect on the daily tasks of its staff. The school has a timeline that spans the next 18 months. By fiscal year 2011, the training center will have more than a thousand people under its roof, including students and instructors. The school also will have a few F-35s in use. “We’re gonna have jets in the fall,” Hlatky said. “If, magically, the jets don’t show up, we’re okay. If it doesn’t show up, we’re gonna go out and start playing golf.” With advanced virtual instruction for pilots and maintainers, Hlatky will not be scheduling a tee time in the near future. Hlatky’s focus is on equipment, facilities and instructional processes. The Academic Training Center, dorms, dining and recreation facilities are still under construction but Hlatky has set up instruction for the current pilots in an existing facility. Pilot training aids are step one for pilots training on F-35s. After the computer programs, they graduate to a sophisticated computer system that includes touch screens, operating sticks, voice activation systems and simulated software. The advanced systems, called Mission Rehearsal Trainers, acclimate pilots before they move on to Full Mission Simulators. Maintainers have a similar process involving avatars with simulated tools and aircraft. A simple operational system and a host of software make flying the F-35 easier than previous generations, said instructor Greg Wilder. He won’t be taking the planes in the air but wishes he could. Wilder said the training program and the plane itself is beyond anything he trained on when he flew F-16s. He remembers learning to fly under hard conditions by turning the lights off in his simulator. The first time he did a refueling mission with a tanker, it was in the air. “I joke that the guys shouldn’t even be able to get flight pay anymore, it’s so simple,” Wilder said. Hlatky prepared an update of the 33rd Fighter Wing that included his ideal answer to the question of runways for the F-35 program. He would build landing pads for the Marine version of the F-35 at Choctaw Field. The rest of the F-35 flight training would be done at Duke Field. The decision is not up to the commander but he has shared his opinions with the Air Force staff.