Simulator lets students pilot variety of aircraft - flexible VISTA system allows pilots to learn various types of aircraft - Brief Article

Airman, Feb, 2001 by Ray Johnson

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- It's riot exactly one-size-fits-all, but the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School's newest trainer fits into a variety of roles.

Called VISTA -- variable-stability in-flight simulator test aircraft -- the one-of-a-kind NF-16D has a simulation system that can mimic several aircraft.

Though housed in an F-16 Fighting Falcon airframe, VISTA also can act like the F-l5 Eagle or the Navy's F-14 Tomcat. "Such flexibility allows for improved training and consolidation of some sorties," said Lt. Col. Michael Sizoo, the school's director of plans and programs. It also provides a better value for flying-hour costs.

On a single sortie, students can evaluate the specific flying qualities of the F-14's direct lift control feature, or experience the unique pitch control characteristics of a delta wing aircraft like the F-106, which is no longer in the Air Force inventory.

Flying different types of aircraft is key since some students come from the Navy, Marine Corps and allied countries. Some fly jets and others fly cargo, even propeller-driven aircraft. And some will find themselves on exchange programs where they'll have to fly different aircraft.

Plus, it saves money and time, since students don't have to fly in each kind of aircraft to get the same quality learning experience.

Moreover, the system lets students "peel back" the layers of flight control features in today's fly-by-wire systems to see the effects of each, said Col. Steve Cameron, school commandant. In one demonstration, students start flying the basic F-16, then sequentially remove flight control features until they are flying the aircraft manually.

"This gives vivid and dramatic proof for the need and effects of computerized flight controls on inherently unstable aircraft like the F-16," Cameron said.

At the heart of the aircraft is a simulation system with a suite of high-speed digital computers. They sense and digitally record all necessary aircraft data and transmit them in real time via telemetry down link. That was useful when the aircraft was used to help develop such leading-edge designs like the F-22 Raptor, the Joint Strike Fighter and NASA's X-38 shuttle lifeboat.

The system has an automatic safety monitoring system. It's easily reconfigured from one aircraft to another during flight and has an all-attitude simulation capability.

The aircraft also features an integrated programmable voice recognition system and a programmable helmet-mounted display. Both offer students "a unique opportunity to learn how to test future integrated cockpits," said Lt. Col. Tom Buter, technical director at the school.

Sizoo added, "It lets students fly with tomorrow's technology rather than yesterday's."

School officials expect to fly some 200 VISTA sorties yearly. Pilots, navigators and engineers will fly a plane that provides a test bed for class and staff research projects, Buter said.

And for warfighter support, he said, VISTA is an "ideal test and training platform for tomorrow's integrated battlespace." *