Air-Wing Toolbox: Saving Time and Money With New Support Equipment Trainers

Saving Time and Money With New Support Equipment Trainers

By David Turner

Aviation Support Equipment “A” School teaches a wide variety of trades, ranging from tire-and-wheel maintenance to troubleshooting complex electrical equipment using schematics and wiring diagrams.

When the school started in 1966, it used NC-8 mobile electrical power plants (MEPPs) for the advanced training in the electrical field. These NC-8s served the school well, even long after the fleet had replaced them with more modern equipment. When problems arose in finding parts required to maintain the NC-8s, though, everyone knew it was time for a change.

A decision was made to replace the tired NC-8s with trainers, rather than use other power plants that actually are used in the fleet. The theory behind this decision was that specially designed trainers would be a better solution for the students. The Navy also would be relieved of the financial burden of supplying the school with expensive support equipment. Realizing the importance hands-on experience provides to students and the good it does to prepare them for the fleet, the school’s training officer, Lt. Bryan Beecher, and staff management tasked some instructors to design a trainer that would meet the need.

AS1 Cory Bates went to work laying out a plan. He surmised that a trainer could be built to simulate the function of a MEPP—one that would allow the school to continue using the same schematic and curriculum. He first wrote the requirements for the trainer and made a blueprint of how it should look. Because he was able to incorporate