Air Education and Training Command ’s Post

Practice makes perfect.

Maxwell Air Force Base has introduced the Integrated Aircrew Systems Trainer (IAST), a #simulator designed to advance #training for MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter crews. The tool provides a controlled environment for Special Missions Aviators and #pilots to practice essential skills.

Maxwell Air Force Base has introduced the Integrated Aircrew Systems Trainer (IAST), a #simulator designed to advance #training for MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter crews. The tool provides a controlled environment for Special Missions Aviators and #pilots to practice essential skills.

Planning mode: Activated 📝✈️ AMC planners from active duty, Guard, and Reserve units convened at Scott AFB to assess personnel and cargo needs for Mobility Guardian 2025. SSgt Demarco Bronokowski, Logistics Planner, 19th Airlift Wing Logistics Readiness Squadron, Little Rock Air Force Base, was in attendance and said he’s excited to see everyone’s planning efforts come to fruition. “I’m ready to see the packages and all the moving pieces come together. It’s been a lot of work but seeing the pallets getting built and loaded onto the aircraft, seeing the people going through the processing lines, and seeing all the tails [aircraft] lined up on the runway… I can’t wait to see it, do it, and have fun.” Logistics planners are key enablers to the Air Force’s ability to reach theater at speed and scale, sustain operations, and rapidly pivot to any theater of operation at a moment’s notice.

It’s not too well known that the pilots of the US Navy display squadron, The Blue Angels, are rotated through the system every 2 years, meaning that in effect the unit is a training programme. Its members are more newbie than seasoned veteran. By the time that they are all dialled in at the end of a display season, they have their formations moving in synchronicity with just 30cm wing-tip to wing-tip. This is consistently achieved year in and year out. That’s some training system. What might it take to consistently deliver precise, ‘zero defect’ results from a team that is continually being changed? At least: candidate quality, top class coaching and mentoring, systematic feedback loops, intense pride in the brand, ownership for results, mutual trust and reliance, 100% logistic support, relentless practice. And, perhaps, an interest in staying alive ... :) [search for 'The Blue Angels' (documentary)if interested. It is high quality]

Textron's T-54A will modernize US Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines pilot training with cutting-edge avionics and predictive maintenance systems. #Aviation

Have you ever had your idea disregarded because you weren’t the subject matter expert? The photo shown here is the result of hours of painstaking mission planning and coordination on the part of RAF and U.S. Air Force pilots. Here’s where my feelings got hurt: I walked up to the whiteboard and drew this exact formation about 20 minutes into mission planning and explained the formation would give every pilot the maximum awareness of the others’ potitions and looks really cool. They immediately dismissed my idea and kept throwing out ideas and hashing out details about how to get a picture from a good angle. Eventually, one of my pilots said, “What if we have the B-2s in lead and trail and an F-35 off each wing in a diamond formation?” (Like I had suggested…HOURS earlier). They all agreed it was a brilliant idea. I was furious (although I didn’t let on). Here’s what I didn’t understand at the time: each of those pilots had trained for years to master their airframe. I was a lowly enlisted guy who was just there to help develop a realistic training scenario for the formation to practice against. Looking back, I should have sought advocacy from one of my pilots rather than advocating for the idea myself. Not because I was wrong (I wasn’t, see exhibit A in the awesome photograph below), but because I had not gone through the years of training and practice to have the credibility to make the suggestion. Sometimes the good idea needs to have the right champion, and sometimes that champion might not be you. In the end, it was a success. Photo credits and article in the comments.

TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY – 22 MARCH 1917 (1 OF 2): this photo of the “First Coast Guard Aviation Group”, the Class of 1916, was taken at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL. I spent significant time researching this photo – but, can’t tell you much more than that. Some information about the Coast Guardsmen in the photo is at the bottom. I found several on-line sources that stated this was the date that U.S. Coast Guard Third Lieutenant Elmer Stone, graduated from Pensacola Naval Aviation Training School and earned his “Wings of Gold”, thereby becoming the service's first aviator. Third Lieutenant Stone was eventually designated as Naval Aviator #38 and later Coast Guard Aviator #1. However, my “book research” reveals that date was actually 10 April 1917 – four days after the U.S. entered WWI by declaring war on Germany. The Naval Deficiency Act of 29 August 1916 provided funds for the purchase of 30 Curtiss N-9 “tractor” seaplanes. This was an adaptation of the US Army’s JN “Jenny” airplane. To make the conversion a single large pontoon was mounted below the fuselage with a small float fitted under each wing tip. These changes required a ten foot increase in wingspan to accommodate the additional weight. Further modifications to the standard “Jenny” design were required to compensate for stability problems. These included lengthening of the fuselage and increasing the area of the tail surfaces. The N-9 was originally developed with 100 HP OXX-6 engine. This was replaced with a 150HP Hispano Suiza engine that was being manufactured under license. Of note is the fact that the US Navy utilized wind tunnel data developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The N-9 was the first U.S. Naval aircraft to incorporate wind tunnel data directly into its design. This same Act provided the means by which the Coast Guard sent an additional 15 personnel to Pensacola for flight and aviation support training. Both Stone and Sudgen upon completion of training were assigned as flight instructors. From left to right: - C.T. Thrun, Master at Arms, later a warrant officer who was killed while flying at Cape May, N.J., in January, 1935; - J. F. Powers, Oiler First Class, who later left the service; - George Ott, Ship’s Writer, who later left the service; - C. Griffin, Master at Arms, who later left the service; - John Wicks, Surfman; - Third Lieut. Robert Donohue, who became Rear Admiral, was Chief Air-Sea Rescue Office, Chief, Personnel Office at Headquarters, retired June 1, 1946. - Second Lieut. C. E. Sugden, who retired a Captain on August 1, 1946; LinkedIn character limit - learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gFvzxnxD ROV Missing Awards: none. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #aircraft US Coast Guard Academy U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association Curtiss-Wright Corporation

I know a lot of you have cool photos/experiences on the job like this. Share your high-res photo(s) with MEEditor@asnt.org, along with a 100-150 word summary for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue of ASNT's flagship monthly journal, Materials Evaluation! Learn more about this Snapshot in digital ME ➡️ https://hubs.ly/Q02D2jmS0

The Royal Canadian Air Force has signed a contract with the SkyAlyne consortium to acquire 19 Pilatus PC-21 training aircraft under the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program. These aircraft will be operational at Moose Jaw Air Base, Saskatchewan, by 2026. https://lnkd.in/dEf4VvWr #RoyalCanadianAirForce #PC21 #PilatusPC21 #SkyAlyne #PilotTraining #TrainingAircraft #CAE #KFAerospace #AirForce #MooseJawAirBase #TrainingTechnology