RSAF Pilots Start Training on Advanced
Aircraft
Pilot trainees with the Singapore Air Force have started basic
flying training on the new Pilatus P-C-21 aircraft trainer in
Pearce, Australia.
MINDEF says the more advanced Lockheed Martin aircraft trainer
will give trainees a better grounding in flying fundamentals.
It'll also enable the RSAF to identify early, trainees with
fighter flying aptitude and more effectively channel the rest to
other platforms for subsequent training.
Describing the PC-21 as a 'state-of-the-art aircraft', MINDEF
said it comes with jet-like handling characteristics and a cockpit
environment similar to an advanced fighter aircraft.
This makes it more advanced than the Aermacchi S-211, which the
Air Force has been using for the last 24 years.
And so the PC 21 will replace them.
So far, 12 PC 21 trainers have been delivered to the RSAF in
Australia.
Another seven are scheduled for delivery next month.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training and Support will
also maintain the trainers and provide a suite of ground-based
training systems including a flight simulator.
MINDEF says the simulator will not only cut down on trainees'
actual flight hours, it will help refine the aerial tactics of the
trainees, allowing the Air Force to develop better flight control
and mission management skills.
The move to use a new fleet of aircraft trainers is in line with
the RSAF's transformation to an advanced Third Generation Air
Force. -938Live