Spangdahlem receives USAFE's first air traffic control tower simulator

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Eydie Sakura
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) --  The Spangdahlem Air Base air traffic controllers began training on their new $850,000 system March 14.

The simulator, which features a 270-degree projector screen and simulated pilot-to-tower communications system, is the first within U.S. Air Forces in Europe. It will eventually be installed at bases throughout the Air Force and is projected to cut back a controller’s training time by six months.

For Airmen to go from a three-level to a five-level rating, it normally takes about 18 months, but the control tower staff wants to cut that down to 12 months, said Capt. Alfred Allen, 52nd Operations Support Squadron airfield operations flight commander.

“We’re hoping for a 40-percent improvement in our qualification times,” the captain said. “We normally have several months of bad weather where we can’t train in the tower, but now we can work year-round on situations that we most likely will not see.”

Air traffic controllers can now practice emergency situations, different weather conditions and can gear-up for the Rhein Main Transition Project on a daily basis.

“They’re learning about heavies and mixing them in with our fighter aircraft,” said Master Sgt. Ricardo Young, 52nd OSS air control tower chief controller. “We’ll be ahead of the game come September.”

The high-tech simulator can upload runways from flightlines across the Air Force. The controllers can also practice deployment scenarios from various areas of responsibility. With the click of the mouse, the controller can make the simulator project a snowy, foggy or hazy sky. The controller can also see the pilots’ viewpoints and control the pilot’s speed and direction. It can simulate night flying as well.

“In the past, we used wooden and paper airplanes and a table-top runway model for training,” Sergeant Young said. “It was only the trainer and the trainee who could practice scenarios. Now the whole team can work together, and it’s fun to throw a bunch of scenarios at them.”

The simulator is so detailed that even the moss on the sides of the hangars and the birds in the sky help it look more realistic, as opposed to a flat screen projection. It acts as a real-life tool to practice real-life situations.

The six -- 61 inch projector screens and multiple computers is something Tech. Sgt. Joseph Ames, 52nd OSS tower watch supervisor, has never seen before.

“The simulator is great, but nothing beats working in the real thing [the tower],” he said.