Under the shadow of Ellsworth Air Force Base sits Douglas High, home to a large Air Force ROTC program. For the aspiring airmen and airwomen, a new tool gets them that much closer to their wings.
In the JROTC room at Douglas High in Box Elder is a new imposing piece of machinery. This massive RedBird SD simulator, the size of a fully scaled cockpit, isn’t just running the latest edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Instead, this is an overwhelmingly detailed flight trainer designed to create as close to a genuine flying experience as possible. An experience so realistic, it can contribute to a would-be pilots’ hours as they train for a pilot’s license under certain circumstances.
Chet Stewart is the school’s aerospace science instructor. After landing in Juneau, Alaska, he said “the weather is great up here.”
“It’s an advanced aviation training device, and it’s a big deal," Stewart said. "We have both civilian students in here and dependent students. It’s a great tool to have in the classroom, because it brings the awareness to general aviation, commercial aviation, and military aviation, so these are great outlets for these students for career paths.”
While the big machine is still getting the bugs ironed out, the desktop-sized units have turned heads.
Those are a huge hit," Stewart said. "Every time at lunch all three of them are packed.”
A former aircraft mechanic, Stewart said it adds a new layer to learning.
“Aviation is kind of in my blood, and having this type of device in the classroom, whether they go into aviation or not, it does teach them to give more attention to detail, just like we teach in this program," Stewart said. "I mean even on a simulator; nobody wants to crash on the simulator either. It teaches them to pay attention to the finer points.”
This investment was funded as part of a grant program with the state Department of Education.