F-16: Training Systems
SELEX Systems Integration (formerly VEGA) supported the Dutch
and Norwegian air forces technical training with the integration of
a cockpit emulation with self paced and instructor-led courseware
and an off-the-shelf management system.
Challenge
The Royal Netherlands and Norwegian air forces procured the
Technical Training Package (TTP) in response to new training
requirements arising from the Mid Life Update (MLU) of the F-16
aircraft. They needed an integrated training solution.
The TTP supports both type conversion and recurrent training of
F-16 avionics technicians. It specifically addresses the following
learning objectives:
- Knowledge of the aircraft systems, component locations and
operating modes
- Acquisition of cognitive skills such as fault diagnosis and use
of test equipment, as well as an understanding and recognition of
failure modes
- Practice and testing or troubleshooting skills and procedures,
including Technical Orders and Fault Isolation
How SELEX Systems Integration Helped
Under the F-16 ATTP project, the following deliverables are
provided:
- Course design documents and training manuals
- An off-the-shelf Computer Managed Instruction (CMI)
package
- Instructor led and student self paced Computer Based Training
(CBT) courseware
- A cockpit emulation of the F-16 avionics
Value Delivered
An extensive course and instructional design process was
undertaken in conjunction with subject matter experts from the
Dutch and Norwegian air forces. Information concerning the student
population, instructor and learning environment was used to
formulate the training philosophy against which the TTP course was
designed. The considerable experience from previous F-16 technical
training was applied as the basis for analysing each training
requirement and formulating a media solution for the new
course.
An extensive instructor handbook is provided which documents the
course structure and identifies all of the materials for the
course, ranging from introductory CBT lessons to wall charts and
paper-based exams.
A CMI package defines the overall structure of the course. It
also includes a number of powerful features for tracking student
progress and performance and for generating reports. As the course
progresses, the CMI manages student access to the course materials
and launches the appropriate lesson elements.
Attention has been paid to ensuring that a consistent look and
feel is provided across the CMI, courseware and emulations. This
was achieved by identifying the graphical user interface of both
Windows NT and the CMI package, rather than building a bespoke
front end.
The courseware is divided into instructor-led and student self
paced materials. Both make use of state-of-the-art multimedia,
including 2 and 3-dimensional animations, still drawings,
photographs, video and audio. Students can use their training
handbooks with the computer-based material for revision
purposes.
The multimedia courseware is supported by an emulation of the
F-16 cockpit and avionics systems, which reproduces the
functionality, behaviour and appearance of the real aircraft. The
students or instructors can navigate around the virtual aircraft
and interact with it via ‘point and click’ mechanism using a
mouse.
Extensive use is made of the equipment emulation to support the
instructor led sessions, in particular through the use of dynamic
schematic diagrams which are linked to the state of the emulation.
These can be used to illustrate system behaviour and operation.
3D modelling techniques have been applied to provide high
quality representations of the aircraft controls, indications and
external components. The external views of the aircraft also
display the state of flight control surfaces in response to
operations in the cockpit. Along with the dynamic schematic
diagrams, this provides a powerful tool for the instructor.
The TTP emulation includes a library of fault conditions. For
students troubleshooting exercises the emulations are launched by
the CMI with pre-configured fault scenarios for the student to
diagnose and rectify. Feedback on student performance is provided
to the instructor via the CMI system.