A new training device at RAAF Base Richmond will assist Air Force C-130 Hercules crews to prepare for the threats they might face on operations.
The Hercules Observer Trainer (HOT) simulates the view from the C-130’s paradoor window in the aircraft’s rear cargo compartment, and provides experience to trainee loadmasters in looking for threats to the aircraft.
The device has arrived at RAAF Base Richmond and was accepted by Air Force on June 29, 2011.
The system has been purchased from the Canadian Commercial Corporation through the commercial supplier Bluedrop Performance Learning after it was developed by Defence Research and Development Canada for that country’s C-130 Hercules crews.
It is an off-the shelf system being purchased for approximately $1 million.
Instructors from CAE Australia, which is contracted to provide C-130 aircrew training support at RAAF Base Richmond, will soon begin utilising the system to train Air Force Loadmasters before they deploy to the Middle East Area of Operations.
Air Commodore Gary Martin, Commander Air Lift Group, says loadmasters played an important role in detecting threats to the aircraft during some critical phases of flight.
“The loadmaster’s primary role is to ensure the safety of all cargo and passengers transported on an aircraft, but they also perform a critical observer role while on operations,” he said.
“The pilots rely on the loadmaster as an extra set of eyes to detect any threats to the aircraft, or suspicious activity which needs to be avoided.”
The Hercules Observer Trainer will provide a simulated view outside the aircraft into which an instructor can program a range of threats.