![]() It's hoped that other NATO nations will soon begin sending their pilots for training at Cranwell. Just working on that straining manoeuvre and the breathing techniques try and hold yourself awake. “This is a really good facility to be able to do that early, without having to actually do it for real and the aircraft yeah. “That's the reason why I'm here – just to get that sort of awareness and get trained up ready for it,” he says. He says the biggest difference between the two is the G-force involved. One of the pilots training during our visit (making 9G look surprisingly easy and definitely not reaching for those pockets) is Flight Lieutenant Nathan Shawyer, who currently flies Tornado, and is converting across to Typhoon. They also feature two large pockets for sick-bags – which the equippers say are often necessary. This equipment includes specially designed trousers that inflate to put pressure on the legs to keep blood from pooling, and add between one and two G of resistance. The facility was fully cleared to operate by the RAF in October, and officially opened in February 2019.Īs well as Bolsover and the doctor, the facility’s team includes a general manager, two pilot instructors who facilitate the simulation, four engineers who monitor the centrifuge and perform day-to-day maintenance, and two safety equippers who are responsible for the pilots’ gear. AMST began installing the device in January 2018, and had it up and running in May. Image credit: TechRadarīolsolver explains that the facility began as an empty site in January 2017, and the building was ready by September/October time. Pilots are equipped with two sick bags, which go into pockets on the front of specially designed trousers that inflate to keep blood from pooling in the legs. “No pre-programmed runs – but we can do those for trials where we need consistency. “Everything’s generally flown by the pilot,” says Bolsover. The interior of the gondola can be fitted with three different cockpits – a Hawk T2, a Typhoon, and an F-35 Lightning – so pilots can get used to the specific control layout they’ll be using in the air. The Cranwell facility cost £44 million (about $57 million, AU$81 million), and features a gondola attached to a seven-meter arm, driven by 20-tonne gearbox and drive capable of delivering over 4,000 horsepower. The new centrifuge can reach 8G per second – the same onset rate pilots will experience in a Typhoon fighter jet. Current NATO regulations state that simulators should have an onset rate of 3G per second. The old device has an onset rate of 1G per second, meaning it takes nine seconds to get up to 9G. The new simulator can also reach high G-forces much more quickly than its predecessor. You then need the distraction of flying an aeroplane, because you’ve got to make that G-strain automatic, and that’s what this training’s for.” You can teach anybody to G-strain if they’re just sat there doing nothing else. ![]() ![]() “Here, the whole idea is you will fly the aeroplane type while you’re doing the G. “In the old Farnborough simulation, you just sat there in a seat and you’d have nothing to do, because you’d just be sat there being tossed around,” Bolsover said. It worked well, but was a much simpler device and doesn’t meet the latest standards for training pilots to fly modern fast jets. He explains that until now, the RAF has carried out G-force training using a centrifuge in Farnborough that first came into service in 1955. Image credit: TechRadarĭavid Bolsolver, former wing commander of the Red Arrows (the RAF’s aerobatics team), is the facility’s training manager. The centrifuge has an onset rate of 8G per second.
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