USAF Slashes Helo Training Time With Virtual Reality
The first USAF helicopter pilot class using virtual reality graduated six weeks early.
(From left to right) U.S. Air Force students 2nd Lt. Trent Badger, 2nd Lt. J. Karl Bossard, 1st Lt. Matthew Gulotta, 2nd Lt. John Thrash, Capt. Josh Park, and 2nd Lt. Richard Songster with a TH-1H helicopter at Fort Rucker, Ala., Oct. 10, 2019. All six officers graduated from Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training-Helicopter Class 20-02, which incorporated virtual reality in an experimental curriculum that resulted in the class graduating six weeks earlier than normal training classes while reducing actual flying time in the TH-1H by about 35 percent. (Photo: U.S. Air Force/Brian Braden)
