August 15, 1997
Originally published by Fairchild Connection (Fairchild AFB, WA)
The plane was having a hard time staying up in the air. Its' nose tilted dangerously, and it was wobbling all over the place. Soon, it crashed with a resounding thud.
Luckily, it was only a simulator. But 15-year-old Eric Smith liked the action just the same. He and Nic Mazzali, 16, were part of a special youth group that took a tour of the KC-135R simulator here at Fairchild recently.
"I think it's pretty cool," Eric said. "It's pretty realistic, but it's just too bad that I wrecked.: Nic added: "It's neat. It was cool. I was able to do it. I didn't get nervous."
Eric and Nic are part of the Special Opportunities Affirm Recognition in Noteworthy Goals program, also known as SOARING. The program is in its second year of operation and is an aviation and affirmation program for youth who have shown initiative in overcoming adversity, according to Bill Green, the program's director.
"We started successfully last year with 25 graduates and many proud parents and families. We also select qualified and interested youth monthly to participate in special opportunities that can be both mentoring and exciting without financial cost," Green said.
According to Green, an introductory ground school takes place every month including airplane flights with a flight instructor. Also, a medical doctor offers free flight physicals. The SOARING "Youth of the Month" gets a flight in a high performing, acrobatic aircraft, Green said.
Green was pleased at the progress the program has made since his inception a year ago.
"This year we have more than doubled the flying hours, pilots and aircraft. We also have a new instrument ground school and flights for family members," Green said.
He encouraged every youth who is interested to contact him at (208) 765-4512. However, he cautioned the program won't just accept anybody.
"The SOARING program is not a replacement for the consequences of misbehavior. It is a community solution in prevention and intervention with youth about issues like violence, gangs and drug abuse," Green said.
The simulator complex itself is a direct representation of an actual Boeing KC-135R and its flight pattern. There are two stations in the complex. One is a moving unit that that simulates the actual motion of the aircraft, the other remains stationary.
"It's just like an actual KC-135 cockpit," Capt. Philip Clinton of the 96th Air Refueling Squadron said. "It can be programmed to fly anywhere in the country." A pilot can also fly to places such as Hawaii and Spain, but not many places overseas," according to Clinton, who adds that in most foreign areas the simulator flies to depict only the airfields and landing locations.
The moving simulator has been operating at Fairchild since 1989 and the stationary simulator was brought in from now-closed Castle AFB, Calif. in 1994, according to Frank Glass, the simulator building's quality insurance representative. Tours are readily available, Glass said.
"Most of the flight simulators we have left are at National Guard and Reserve sites, but a handful are still at active duty bases," Glass said.
They are both 11-ton devices and the moving version offers six different positions of movement. "These are slightly modified from the real aircraft, because we've had to keep up with the increasing technology of real-life aircraft," Glass said.
"A lot of pilots and captains will come in here and say that it doesn't feel right or that it isn't quite the same as the real thing, and then we make changes," Glass said.
Jim Hallstrom, contractor of flight safety for the building, said that the military is required to provide a daily block of time for each training session or tours, adding that a qualified operator must run the simulator.
Air Force personnel with flying status conduct tours and instructors are authorized to conduct training sessions inside the simulator, Hallstrom said.
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