Real or reality?

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Josef Cole
  • 321st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TAJI AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNS) --  What is real? If it's what you can see, hear and feel, then the MI-171E simulator here is real.

The simulator is a training tool for the two MI-171E squadrons here and is mainly used for emergency procedures and simulated instrument meteorological-conditions flight.

The process of obtaining the simulator began four years ago with a letter of request and was completed at the end of July with the final assembly and the start of training. The simulator was purchased from Trencin, Slovakia, by the Iraqis for $4.8 million and officials said it will pave the way for many helicopter pilots in the future.

"(The Iraqis) have been very receptive to the simulator and are giving max effort," said Capt. Zach Pellonari, an MI-171E instructor pilot and air adviser from the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron.

Iraqi airmen not only learn to fly using the simulator, but also how to program scenarios and operate the simulator to create a sustainable training model. The scenarios include system failures and flight conditions that are rare and too dangerous to perform in the actual aircraft. Two examples are dual hydraulic failure and low visibility created by dust, referred to as a brownout.

"In the simulator, we're teaching them to land into dust and take off out of dust, and it's completely safe because they can crash," said Capt. Terry R. Martin Jr., also an instructor pilot and air adviser from the 721st AEAS. "There are a lot of emergency procedures that you can't do in the aircraft, so they can do it here in the simulator and practice and learn to be prepared if it actually happens while they're in flight."

In addition to expected benefits, 721st AEAS air advisers said they have also seen marked improvement in communication inside the aircraft between air crew members.

"Before they didn't talk to each other, (now they do)," Martin said.

Introduction of the simulator has been challenging, officials said. The logistics, including housing, cooling and powering the simulator, have been difficult but are surmounted through the cooperation of U.S. and Iraqi airmen. Maintenance is another challenge issued by the simulator.

"Right now, there's a contract for one year that started in June," Martin said. "We would like to see the Iraqis take over in the next month so that they can be self-sustainable (and) self-reliant with the systems that they have here. We want them to update everything on their own, and this should last as long as the MI-171E is in their air force or their army air corp.

"(The simulator is) going to help their future capabilities," Martin said. "The simulator basically advances the capabilities of any air force, anybody that's flying the MI-171E."

Click here to view a slideshow with more images.