The AW119Kx off ers an advanced glass cockpit. The state-of-the-art cockpit prepares pilots for advanced mission sets. Displays include engine monitoring systems, fl ight instrumentation, and additional situational awareness fl ight safety systems.
Flying Training Group of the Air Education and Training Command. Doss Aviation, a civilian company under contract with the USAF, conducts fl ight screening for 1,300 to 1,700 USAF offi cers annually. The
company provides complete
services, including aircraft, maintenance, instructors, training facilities, and lodging for IFS candidates.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR THE NAVY
AGUSTAWESTLAND’S PROPOSED ‘TURNKEY’ PLAN APPEARS IT COULD BENEFIT THE NAVY IN SEVERAL WAYS, INCLUDING:
Predictability – The Navy will be able to more accurately forecast their output with respect to training budgets. As stated earlier, procurement is an option. However, that requires a massive amount of capital outlay on the front end. In a service plan, there would be no additional operating costs above current levels and the Navy could slide right into new, modern day aircraft.
30 January 2015
Effi ciency – According to AgustaWestland, the AW119 Kx is a more capable aircraft than the current trainer in many ways: safety, power, range, avionics, and so forth. It believes that hour for hour, students will achieve a higher volume and quality of training per sortie.
Relevancy – Perhaps most importantly is the question of relevancy. Currently most fi xed- and rotary-winged naval airframes have transitioned to glass cockpits. Even the Navy’s primary fi xed-wing T6 trainer utilizes
digital displays for performance
and fl ight information. Yet, the TH-57 is still using antiquated analog gauges and instruments. Currently, it’s common for a naval aviator to be trained in the T6 trainer with glass cockpit, and then move into a larger fi xed-wing glass-cockpit aircraft. Then if the aviator is selected to fl y helicopters, he or she must regress back to a non-glass environment while training in the TH-57. To add insult to injury, once leaving primary helicopter training, the pilot will again go back to glass cockpits
in the larger, more complex helicopters common in the fl eet.
To cite an old cliché, it appears that the U.S. Navy’s 239 years of tradition has not been completely unimpeded by progress. From my vantage point, they are fl ying modern missions in modern aircraft that are equipped to handle complex missions in some of the most inhospitable environments known. Navy helicopter pilots are some of the best trained in the world. Looking toward 2016, if the U.S. Navy moves on the recent RFI, perhaps AgustaWestland can play a role in helping reconnect the naval training fl eet with the rest of the fl eet.
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