Technical Services Magazine • Fall 2006 - Northrop Grumman ...

B-2 Aircrew Training Team Prepares
Warfighters for Mission Success
Every year, they get better and better at what they do.
They continue to expand their services and the level of
support that they provide to their customer. Since the
current Aircrew Training organization stood up in 2000, they
have trained 136 B-2 pilots to fly one of the most sophisticated
weapon systems in the U.S. military.
Based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Aircrew Training is a part
of Northrop Grumman Technical Services Life Cycle Optimization
and Engineering Group and functions as a subcontractor
to L3 Communications under the Training Systems Contractor
Logistics Support (TSCLS) contract. They are a small yet
highly skilled and adaptable team of instructors and curriculum
developers who provide courseware and academic training to B-
2 pilots and serve as B-2 technical experts to the U.S. Air Force.
“On average, we train 20 pilots annually,”
said Bill Craig, Aircrew Training
site lead. “We are an integral part of
the Air Force’s 394th Combat Training
Squadron (CTS) and work right
alongside of their instructor pilots
(IPs). They handle the simulator and
flight training while we take care of
the academic classes, basic trainers,
courseware, and scheduling. They fully
accept us as members of their team,
which gives us a wonderful working environment.”
Together, the six Northrop Grumman instructors bring more
than 100 years of Air Force bomber experience and 13,000
flying hours into the classroom. All instructors have prior B-2
experience and each is a subject matter expert for at least four
aircraft systems. “This background is essential,” said Craig. “It
establishes our credibility from day one. We wear flight suits in
the classroom and have plenty of ‘there I was’ stories to liven
up the lessons. The students know that we’ve ‘been there, done
that’ and they pay attention.”
The TS instructors spend more than 1,300 hours a year in the
classrooms and trainers teach more than 700 lessons. Counting
research and preparation time, they save the Air Force instructors
nearly 3,000 hours a year, hours that the IPs can devote to
simulator and in-flight training.
Every B-2 returning from a mission carries with it lessons
learned – lessons that need to be integrated quickly into the
training. The six-month Initial Qualification Training (IQT)
course that qualifies new pilots to fly the B-2 is Aircrew
Training’s biggest responsibility. Northrop Grumman’s training
history at Whiteman began in 1994 when the company delivered
the B-2 training program and taught the
first three IQT classes.
“We built our capabilities, starting from
scratch, while operating out of a former
storeroom,” said Craig. “In six years,
we expanded our training capabilities
dramatically. The first year, we were
responsible for 86 IQT lessons. Now,
we teach 207 lessons.”
Col. (S) Steve Moulton, 509th Operations
Group assistant deputy commander
and former 394th CTS commander, says Northrop
Grumman’s Aircrew Training team is essential to the Air Force
mission. “I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the performance,
dedication, and professionalism of our Northrop Grumman Aircrew
Training team,” said Col. Moulton. “They are an integral
part of the training squadron.”
T S
1 2
1 Capt. Aaron Pepkowitz, 394th Combat Training Squadron, and Bill
Craig, Northrop Grumman Training site lead instructor, review
weekly academic training and flying schedules to ensure optimum
use of instructor resources. The Initial Qualification Training course
is 125 training days long and teaches a new pilot to fly the B-2. The
Requalification Training Course is 30 training days, and gives a previously
qualified B-2 pilot refresher training in the aircraft systems
and more in-depth training in new systems.
2 Britt Bankson, Northrop Grumman NG instructor, oversees 1st Lt.
Brooks Walters (left) and Capt. Todd Crooks, 394th Combat Training
Squadron, during an IQT Cockpit Procedures Trainer.
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Technical Services Magazine • Fall 2006