First Naval Aviators Graduate Pilot Training Next

Brig. Gen. James R. Sears Jr, director of plans, programs, and requirements for Headquarters Air Education Training Command congratulates Ensign Charles Hill at his Pilot Training Next graduation on Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Hill and  Ensign Seth Murphy-Sweet are the first two Navy students to go through the new Air Force pilot training program. All image credits: US Navy

The first two student naval aviators graduated from the U.S.Air Force’s Pilot Training Next (PTN) program at Randolph Air Force Base (AFB)just outside of San Antonio.

The PTN program is a course of instruction designed to trainmilitary pilots at a lower cost, in a shorter amount of time, and with a higherlevel of proficiency, leveraging emerging technologies to create a dynamictraining environment.

The PTN program individualizes training, adjusting to eachstudent pilot’s strengths and weaknesses. It integrates virtual reality (VR),advanced biometrics, artificial intelligence (AI), and immersive trainingdevices (ITD) with traditional methods of learning.

“The most appealing part of this program is we step away from the common denominator or one-size-fits-all training that has to be done on a certain timeline,” Det. 24 Commander U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ryan Riley said. “With PTN we have been able to focus more on competencies and the focus of the individual student. We tailor the training to you, and that is a very different mindset shift and that is what I am most excited about.”

A T-6A Texan II aircraft prepares to conduct a tough-and-go landing on Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.

Navy instructors selected Ensigns Charles Hills and SethMurphy-Sweet for the PTN program in lieu of the standard Navy Primary FlightTraining phase. This joint training effort is a step toward integratingemerging technologies into Navy’s flight training curriculum. Now Hill andMurphy-Sweet are ready to move forward to the advanced stage of flight trainingwith the Navy’s Training Air Wing 2 at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas.

“I think a big thing with this program was the ability toutilize the VR, get the experience and pacing down for each flight realtime,”Hill said. “This benefited all the students – being able to chair fly whilebeing able to see the whole flight rather than to have to use your imagination.This helped in getting the motor skills while we were able test it out in VRand see how the exact input corresponds to a correct output.”

The relatively new program is being improved with eachiteration and allows a more tailored approach to learning in comparison totraditional flight training from the instructor’s perspective. Instructors usea collaborative learning environment to evaluate and analyze students andsubsequently make corrections and improvements.

PTN First Assignment Instructor Pilot (FAIP) U.S. Air ForceCapt. Jake Pothula shared his views on just how the program differs from thetraditional syllabus:

“I went through traditional training,” he said. “The biggestdifference with the PTN program is the fact that we aren’t tied to a veryrigid, unforgiving syllabus, so students have the ability to choose their owntraining or have it be molded by instructor pilots who have the students’individual best interest in mind. In traditional Undergraduate Pilot Training(UPT) you get more flying hours, but PTN students get a lot more simulatortime. The students probably get three times as many hours in the sim than atraditional UPT student would. It’s something they could do at their own paceand choose what they want to do. I would say that these students have a verydifferent set of skills. They excel at understanding their place in a largermission and understanding what their aircraft is going to do especially in thecases of large field or large force exercises. I feel they definitely have abetter grasp on more abstract [concepts] such as mission management.”

Integrating new technologies such as ITDs allows students togain experience using real-world scenarios. Students can not only fly thestrict patterns and procedures they learn from their books, but also integrateair traffic control decondition as well as other aircraft.

“I think the unique and most exciting aspect with where PTNis going is the partnership with the Navy and Air Force,” Riley said. “Withthis partnership the Navy has loaned us eight T-6B Texan II aircraft. Themanufacturer modified the avionics to what we call the T-6B plus, which hassoftware specifically built for the PTN program mission.”

Adding Navy instructors and students to the PTN programbrings a unique perspective since training in the T-6B Texan II is new to theAir Force. VR simulators add a new and exciting element to the PTN program anddraws parallels to the gaming industry, which could help attract newaccessions.