STATE-OF-THE-ART RAPTOR MAINTENANCE FACILITY OPENS

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS) --  A new era of training started at Sheppard Oct. 19, with the opening of the Air Force's F-22A Raptor Maintenance Training Facility.

All maintenance training for the nation's newest fighter aircraft will take place in one facility. Airmen learn how to be Raptor crew chiefs, armament specialists, avionics specialists, egress specialists, fuels specialists and engine maintainers.

"We have really changed how we view training," said Col. Steven Morani, 82nd Training Group commander. "This building is the model for the future."

The new facility will provide "fifth generation" training through its computer-heavy classrooms and the brand-new, multi-million dollar trainers built for the facility. These trainers are exact replicas of the F-22, with some training additions.

"Our trainers are 80 to 90 percent actual aircraft parts," said G. Jay Brown, program manager with DME Corporation, the company that produced the cockpit trainer and seat and canopy trainer. "It's what (the maintainers) will actually see and feel on the real aircraft."

This is all possible because the Raptor is built from the ground up with maintenance in mind, said Pam Valdez, F-22 Sustainment director for the Boeing Company. She said the aircraft will self-diagnose potential problems and give instructions to the maintainer on how to fix it, all through the portable maintenance aid designed to improve safety and reliability.

The high-tech, $21 million facility began construction in March 2005, and its first classes will begin in January.