Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        National Guard Office of Special Victims' Counsel

    Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Unique trainer modernizing face of helicopter simulator flying in Iowa By Sgt. Christie Smith
                Iowa National Guard
 JOHNSTON, Iowa — Black Hawk pilots and crewmembers with the Iowa Army National Guard have been given an opportunity to train on a first-of-its-kind flight simulator at the Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center in Johnston, Iowa. The Black Hawk Aircrew Trainer, simply referred to as the "BAT," is a highly immersive, home-station flight training device for the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, a modernized version of the UH-60. While the BAT boasts many advantages over past simulators, its primary purpose is to prepare pilots for situations they hope will never happen. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Travis Vanlengen, a Black Hawk instructor pilot with Company C, 2nd Brigade, 147th Aviation Battalion, of Boone, Iowa, is a certified BAT instructor-operator whose "day job" is to train pilots on this unique simulator. "The BAT allows us to train pilots in situations we hope they never find themselves in," Vanlengen said. "Whether it be emergency procedures we cannot simulate in the aircraft, or to train pilots in threat scenarios, so they know how to properly react when they're exposed to those threats in Afghanistan, or Iraq or future environments." Instructor-operators, like Vanlengen, are able to adjust outside factors in the simulator by increasing adverse weather conditions such as cloud cover, or icing, or by introducing any variation of enemy fire. "It also gives me the capability of inducing hundreds of emergency procedures by failing certain systems in the helicopter and having the pilots react accordingly," Vanlengen said. These failures can include dual-engine failure, a fire in flight, tail rotor malfunction, or various other mechanical failures which are often fatal in actual aircraft, Vanlengen said. The idea of the BAT is not revolutionary. Flight simulators have long been a core of pilot training, according to Chief Warrant Officer 4 Steven Stumbo, a standardization instructor pilot at Company C, 2nd Brigade, 147th Aviation Battalion, of Boone, Iowa, and the unit's training officer. Before the BAT made its way to Camp Dodge in November 2016, Iowa pilots had to travel to Camp Ripley, Minnesota; Fort Riley, Kansas or Camp Grayling, Michigan, to fulfill their simulator requirements. Based on the distance of these training facilities, pilots were mandated only six hours annually. "Having the BAT at Camp Dodge is huge for us, because now we can send people down on an additional flight training period and they can get their simulator time without leaving the state of Iowa," Stumbo said. With the proximity of the BAT, Iowa pilots now have a mandatory 18 hours of simulator training each year, in addition to 96 hours of actual flight time. "Now we're going from just meeting minimum standards to maintaining or increasing proficiency," Stumbo said. The BAT is set apart from other simulators, first by its design. According to Vanlengen, the BAT is built from actual UH-60M parts, ensuring simulator training is realistic and current. "This trainer utilizes a whole real front end of a helicopter, using actual components from the helicopter," Vanlengen said. "In terms of going between the helicopter and the simulator, there's no difference in the functionality of it – the buttons [pilots] are pushing, the procedures they go through, are the exact same between the helicopter and the simulator." Another benefit to the BAT's real-world design, Vanlengen said, is its ability to be updated as soon as the fleets are. Previously, simulators lagged behind the fleet when updates to the birds had to be recreated for the simulator – a problem which could be amplified for the new UH-60M, the most technologically advanced Black Hawk to date, equipped with a fully operational autopilot, GPS coupling and a moving map display. In addition to efficiency, the use of actual Black Hawk parts, combined with improved screen technology, allows pilots to train with full night vision goggle capability, something which was previously not possible. "This is the most realistic simulator that I've flown," Vanlengen said. "This is a much more capable simulator for full tactical training." Ultimately, the bottom line for the BAT is dollars. Vanlengen said the $9 million simulator is much more cost-effective for regular training than a $17 million Black Hawk, which costs around $4,500 per flight hour in fuel and upkeep. From conception to operation, the BAT has proved a cost-saving venture. "The BAT is the only simulator that is actually Army-owned," Vanlengen said. So Army contractors, rather than outsourced contractors, are building, maintaining and functioning it. The Iowa Army National Guard's BAT is not the first BAT built, nor will it be the last. A prototype, which was unveiled last May, currently serves pilots at Fort Carson, Colorado, according to the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center. The first permanently fielded BAT calls Fort Hood, Texas, home. Eventually, 11 other BATs will be built and based strategically throughout the U.S. for Army pilot training. For now, Iowa's BAT is the only one in the National Guard's inventory, according to Vanlengen. Iowa's BAT currently serves approximately 130 aviators per year from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota, providing a combined 2,030 hours of training, Vanlengen said, saving the U.S. Army and the taxpayer thousands of dollars. For Stumbo, a veteran pilot and the officer responsible for training his company of assault pilots, the value of the BAT is not just cost-saving, it's life-saving. "Emergency procedures can happen whether it's peacetime here in the states, or oversees on a deployment," Stumbo said. "Mechanical failures don't happen very often, but when they do, having the crew trained to deal with those emergency procedures can mean the difference of survivability or not."
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course
 By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Smith,
  38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise
 By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry,
  Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska
 By 156th Wing
  More
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course Guard News • 3 hours ago
 38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise Guard News • 10 hours ago
 Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska Guard News • 10 hours ago
 Air National Guard Conducts Sentry Savannah Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 Hawaii Air National Guard Hosts Sentry Aloha Joint Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 2024 (196)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil