Team effort brings together successful simulator upgrade

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The 488th Intelligence Squadron is undergoing upgrading its flight simulator for its RC-135 Rivet Joint aircrew, and it's teamwork that's making this venture a success.

Service members, civilians and contractors from RAF Mildenhall's 488th IS, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron and 100th Communications Squadron are working together alongside the 645th Aeronautical Systems Squadron from Greenville, Texas, to ensure the multimillion dollar simulator upgrade contains the latest systems.

"The RC-135 goes through periodic upgrades," said Maj. Jarrod Knapp, 488th IS director of operations. "It's a cyclic process; whereas a lot of airframes do block upgrades, this spiral upgrade is a continuous process. It's (constantly) getting upgraded with the latest systems, and this is key to the aircraft maintaining such a modern presence."

The RC-135 has with a KC-135 frame, which means the aircraft is between 50 and 60 years old. To make up for this, the RC-135s are completely refurbished every four years, which includes cutting wings off and getting down to the "bare bones" of the plane.

"As this happens, we need to do upgrades to the ground systems as well," Knapp said. "This (project) is an upgrade of the ground simulator that enables it to match pace with the latest airframe."

While the majority of simulators are cockpit simulators, resembling large gaming systems, the 488th IS's flight trainer is aimed at the rest of the aircrew and focuses on the rest of the airframe.

"When you get in a simulator, you think it's like an all-moving video game - this one isn't like that, mostly because we have too many people to do that," the 488th IS director of operations said. "This simulator was built for more than a dozen people and the crew, so it's fairly large."

Although it may not have all the same movements, the ground simulator has the same functionality as with the systems on the aircraft.

"Once it's up and running, the simulator will enable us to put a full crew in there on a daily basis to get training," Knapp said. "It saves us from having to put a plane in the air, with fuel and other costs associated with it, and provides a lot more training for our folks and saves an enormous amount of man-hours."

The Royal Air Force has also recently acquired new RC-135s which have the same system as those of the U.S. Air Force, so this upgraded simulator will allow them to come here and train on the system alongside their American counterparts.

"They're able to hop on with us, as part of an integrated crew, so they can train with us," he said. "So far, it's been a great success with all the team players that have been helping out, both from the 100th Air Refueling Wing and our folks in Texas, as well as our own people in the 488th IS."

Unlike a module-type simulator, the 488th IS rebuilt the facility from the ground up. There are many computers, stations and racks which make it look like a server room.

"It's basically what you would see inside the aircraft," Knapp said of the simulator, which is owned by the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. "The 645th AESS provides the (technical) guys, responsible for producing these aircraft and doing all the development for it, strip it down and develop both the hardware and software. They are responsible for it nose to tail."

The project has been a huge team effort, and all those involved have been working together to achieve the final goal of getting the simulator up and running.

"Everybody's got a little piece of the pie, and if one thing doesn't happen then the whole project doesn't happen. Every piece needs to fall into place and that's why we need the whole team there," Knapp said.

One of those team players providing a vital role in the installation of the simulator is the 100th CES Electric shop. Its members have been installing equipment and the power required to run the simulator.

Additionally, Martin Parker, 100th CES high voltage and airfield electrical supervisor, and his team worked together sourcing materials and installing equipment.

"We had to adapt to a few last-minute changes, but taking some extra time to communicate with the customer and plan the job properly made this whole project a success," said Parker, a resident of Newmarket, Suffolk. "The customer was happy, and we were pleased to do the work. As always, it was a team effort from both the U.S. Air Force (service members) and U.K. civilian electricians in the shop.

"Without the proper electrical power, the equipment the 488th (IS) needed to enhance their mission would have been useless; the electricity brings the equipment to life," he said.

The role of the 100th CES electricians is to provide facilities and infrastructure to support RAF Mildenhall's missions. Many of the base's facilities are old, and their originally designed missions or purposes have changed or no longer exist.

"The 488th (IS) needed new equipment. We appreciate the necessity to upgrade and modernize the war-fighting equipment, therefore it's my job to make sure the facilities on RAF Mildenhall support the ever-changing mission," Parker said.

The simulator upgrade project at RAF Mildenhall is scheduled for completion in mid-January 2014.