C130-J flight simulator wraps up first training

Photo By Staff Sgt. Brittni Capozzi | From left, Air National Guard pilots, Maj. Mark Zirkle, from the 130th Airlift Squadron, and Lt. Col. Rob Gearhart, and loadmasters, Master Sgts. Graham Devine and Nick Dislavo, from the 143d Airlift Wing, take part in the first training class of the Weapons Systems Trainer-Reconfigurable, at Quonset Air National Guard Base, North Kingstown, R.I., May 7, 2021. The WST10R allows crewmembers to maintain currency and stay at a higher level or readiness. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Brittni Capozzi)  

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI, UNITED STATES

05.07.2021

Story by Airman 1st Class Brittni Capozzi 

143d Airlift Wing

North Kingstown, RI -- One pilot and two loadmasters from the Rhode Island Air National Guard along with a pilot from the West Virginia Air National Guard completed the first training of the Weapons System Trainer-Reconfigurable , May 7, here.

The WST10R is a flight simulator that is able to transition between standard C130-J configurations and HC130 configurations.
The simulator is used to train pilots for local missions, search and rescue and allows for training if aircraft are unable to fly due to inclement weather or aircraft downtime.

“There’s a lot of training that we can accomplish,” said Air National Guard Lt. Col. Rob Gearhart, an instructor pilot from the 143d Airlift Squadron. “We have the ability to do continuation training, for example, the other day the weather didn't support us flying, we could come into the simulator and we can accomplish some of our training with the simulator.”

Before, pilots would have to travel to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi to accomplish this training.

Having the simulator at Quonset allows for funding to be saved each year by not having to send members to different bases to train. Not only does it save funds, but it also saves time these members would have to spend away from home and family, said the contracting officer representative, Rich Lutz.

Now, training can be done locally and welcomes other units to train in Rhode Island.

“People will be coming in to our location for the refresher training and actually learn on our piece of equipment,” said Lutz. “So they have to stay on the local economy, and go to local restaurants. It’s not only good for us, it’s good for Rhode Island in general.”

After taking approximately 10 months to install, test and certify once it got to Quonset the WST10R is ready to start training.
“The fact that we can do this at our home station now is obviously very convenient and very exciting for everybody,” said Gearhart.

• Date Taken: 05.07.2021
• Date Posted: 05.21.2021 10:20
• Story ID: 397022
• Location: NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI, US