U.S. Army Aviation Has New Tools To Help Student Pilots

The U.S. Army’s Aviation Learning Center (ALC) has a new tool to aid cadets in navigating the normal “speed bumps” associated with flight training—but miles away from the flight line.

George Snyder, lead instructor at the ALC, urged students, “You can walk through the door and tell us what course you are in and what you are having some trouble with. We have instructors here that are professionals to help guide the process. Each one of us has expertise and experience in specific aircraft but if one of us isn’t here, we are all trained to help in all aircraft for any situation.”

Those tools include the Cockpit Academic Procedural Tool – Enhanced Visual and Control System (CAPT-EVCS) from Huntsville, Alabama. Joshua Dupont, an aerospace engineer at Redstone Arsenal, said of the rotorcraft training device, “The CAPT-EVCS is equipped with an outside visual screen, weather settings [i.e., for instrument approaches], the latest software identical to the flight line and better cyclic controls. This is repurposed government-owned software that we can provide. It doesn’t have to be in a training facility. We come up with the concept, build it, and set it up.”

Snyder said, “The new Virtual Training Suite (VTS) has state-of-the-art features. This monitor has touchscreen enhancement and manipulation, virtual aircraft components, and tons of visuals that provide academic enhancement.”