Boeing's 1st C-130 AMP Trainer for US Air Force Declared 'Ready For Use'

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Boeing's 1st C-130 AMP Trainer for US Air Force Declared 'Ready For Use'
UNITED STATES - 14 SEPTEMBER 2009

Boeing [NYSE: BA] has completed delivery of the U.S. Air Force's first simulator for the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) to Little Rock Air Force Base. The Weapon System Trainer (WST) passed government acceptance testing and was declared "ready for use" on July 20.

Boeing is scheduled to deliver a suite of trainers over the next several years to support the AMP training program at Little Rock. Each piece of training equipment offers a different level of instruction to train crew members in the operation of the new capability AMP will install in the aircraft.

"As a guard unit, our entire mission depends on exceptional training," said Lt. Col. Domenic Sarnataro, 189th Airlift Wing Chief of Safety, Arkansas Air National Guard. "Ours is the only unit that will provide training for the C-130 AMP, so the sooner we can start using these simulators, the better prepared we will be when training begins late next year."

The simulator is a full-motion, high fidelity simulator that is essential in training Air Force aircrews to fly the AMP-modified aircraft in an operational environment. An important feature of this training device is that it uses the same software as the C-130 AMP aircraft, which will make it easier for the Air Force to keep the simulator current with the aircraft. Any future modifications can be made to the aircraft and the training devices at the same time, so aircrews can train on any new capability in the simulator before they fly it in the aircraft.

Three C-130 AMP aircraft have completed initial flight testing and are undergoing additional evaluation flights with the Air Force before the AMP upgrade kits are installed on the fleet.

Boeing partnered with Tampa, Fla.-based subcontractor CAE USA to integrate the new AMP cockpit into the simulator and to perform similar modifications for other training devices in the suite.

"As the world's most experienced provider of C-130 training systems and services, we are extremely pleased to partner with Boeing to deliver the first C-130 AMP Weapon Systems Trainer to the Air Force," said John Lenyo, president and general manager of CAE USA. "This state-of-the-art simulator will play a key role in ensuring Air Force C-130 crews are well-trained and mission-ready with the modernized aircraft."

Just as the training program is refurbishing old training devices, the AMP program will save the Air Force millions of dollars by modifying existing C-130s when compared with the cost of acquiring new aircraft.




Source: The Boeing Company

 

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C-130 Avionics Modernization Test Program Completed
UNITED STATES - 23 DECEMBER 2009

EDWARDS U.S. AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- On Dec. 11, the C-130 Integrated Test Team successfully completed the last test flight for the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP).

The flight culminated a 3-year Development Test and Evaluation (DT&E) effort; logging 295 test missions totaling over 1000 flight hours. The program, which replaced analog "steam gauges" and instruments with a modern "glass" flight deck, brought the 1950's designed airframe into compliance with current air traffic management and AF navigation safety requirements.

The upgrades to the communication, navigation and surveillance systems also helped standardize the C-130 combat delivery fleet, reducing total life cycle costs. The new flight deck includes six multi-function displays, two heads-up displays (HUDs), upgraded communication and navigation control panels, two mission processors, ARC-210 radios, data links, and a completely new air data system.

In the course of DT&E, the team deployed to locations around-the-world to evaluate the new systems in operationally representative environments. These globe-spanning expeditions, encompassing 19 days and over 91 flight hours, included flights across the Pacific to evaluate system characteristics during Antemeridian and Equator crossings, and a deployment to Europe that included flights over the North Pole.

The program met another significant milestone with the successful completion of all-weather testing at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory, Eglin AFB, Fla. Climatic lab tests subjected the AMP systems to extreme temperatures ranging from negative 50 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit.

The AMP inaugural flight staged from Kelly Airfield in San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 19, 2006. The aircraft was then brought to Edwards.

The Integrated Test Team, part of the Global Reach Combined Test Force, is comprised of approximately 100 members; including personnel from the 412th Engineering Group , 412th Test Management Group, 912th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 418th Flight Test Squadron, Boeing Corporation, Air Mobility Command and the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center.