Photo By Capt. Kayla Edwards | Master Sgt. David Long, 154th TRS flight engineer, views the screens inside the...... read more read more
The 189th Airlift Wing recently acquired a new training asset that will continue to prepare the members of the wing and its students to fly, fight, and win. The Multi-Mission Crew Trainer, or MMCT, is a non-motion flight simulator that was designed to help meet flight crew training requirements while saving money and time. One of the main reasons that the MMCT was requested by the National Guard Bureau was to manage training requirements and mission readiness while dealing with the reality of budgetary constraints and personnel issues, explains Kevin Hubbley, QuantaDyn MMCT Contractor Operator Maintenance Support manager.
“The Air National Guard looked at what could be done to keep people trained and proficient in their jobs in the C-130 flying world and this solution works,” he stated.
The MMCT can be configured to reproduce any number of conditions, such as selecting different locations, aircraft configurations, weather patterns, and emergency conditions.
Not only does the MMCT work for flight crew members who are already proficient but it can be utilized to train new students as well.
Hubbley explained that the MMCT is set up to go from A to Z and can be used to train a flight crew member at any level of expertise.
“You could take a brand new flight crew member who maybe hasn’t had enough time on the plane to get his or her checklist discipline completed and bring them into the simulator for a series of training events to fine-tune their skills,” he said.
Conversely, the MMCT could also be used by a seasoned flyer who needs to reacquaint themselves with the controls and refresh what he or she already knows. This is especially true for drill status pilots, who would likely see a great benefit utilizing the MMCT. Many of the pilots assigned to the unit who are traditional Guardsmen work for civilian airlines in a full-time capacity. Having a readily available simulator to use as a quick refresher before a check ride can provide another level of comfort for those individuals and reacquaint them with the Herc before flight.
“Flying a Boeing 737 isn’t quite the same as flying a C-130H, so if they’re flying that aircraft for the majority of the month, it’s nice to have this trainer available so they can jump in for even an hour to get their mind back into the mode of the C-130,” said Hubbley.
Financially, the MMCT is a more cost-effective option for Air National Guard units. The initial cost for a full motion simulator is somewhere between $12 to $14 million dollars, plus operating costs and employing staff to manage it. The initial cost of the MMCT is a quarter of the cost of a full motion simulator and all that is needed is someone who is instructor operating station trained to generate all of the training scenarios needed.
From an operational perspective, the MMCT also provides a level of scheduling flexibility that does not exist with the full motion simulators that are operated by the contractors on Little Rock Air Force Base.
“Availability is a big advantage and the operating costs are minimal compared to a full motion simulator,” said Hubbley.
While the MMCT is ideal for individuals who want to work on check ride preparation and systems knowledge reinforcement, it will also be particularly useful for instructors to build on the knowledge that students have about the C-130H when they come to the schoolhouse.
Mr. Hubbley, a retired flight engineer who spent 30 years in the 109th Airlift Wing in the New York Air National Guard, acknowledges that the MMCT would have been a valuable training asset during his years in the Guard.
“Our unit had a very specific mission set with the Skibird and this tool would have been worth millions of dollars to us. It could have potentially taken anywhere from eight to 12 months of training and compressed it into less than six,” said Hubbley.
Master Sgt. David Long, 154th TRS instructor flight engineer, currently manages the MMCT and is optimistic about its value to the 189th AW.
“It’s open for our operators to use any time. I’ve created a guide so that anyone can come in and run a training program independently,” Long explained.
Having the MMCT opens the door for a plethora of opportunities for the wing. Not only does it provide an opportunity for 154th TRS members to refresh their knowledge, but it also gives students the opportunity to see something that they haven’t experienced yet.
“Sometimes it can be difficult to explain what they’ll see while they’re flipping through their books. Instructors can bring them into the [MMCT] and this is the aircraft,” Hubbley stated.
“There’s not much that you can do in the MMCT that you can’t replicate on the aircraft and vice versa.”
Hubbley also talked about other real-world training opportunities that exist with the MMCT. Eventually the goal is for every ANG unit that flies the C-130 to have an MMCT onsite. The trainer is designed to link with other MMCT units throughout the Air National Guard, making it possible for crew members to fly missions with Airmen at other units, without ever leaving their respective bases.
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2019 12:48 |
| Story ID: | 312133 |
| Location: | ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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