The Army released a Request For Information (RFI) document in October detailing changes coming to the training problem. The program includes classroom, simulator, and live flight training that takes place at Fort Novosel, Ala.
The Initial
Entry Rotary Wing Flight Training has been located at Fort Novosel for over 50+
years. It operates with “inefficiencies” from years of change and multiple
disparate contracts, the Army said in the RFI. The Army is seeking to
simultaneously improve the quality of training provided to its new aviators,
cut costs, and improve efficiency.
Currently, hours
of flight operations begin at 6 a.m. and end around midnight. Saturday flight
periods are conducted when students are behind in training due to weather or
maintenance and the weekend follows a federal holiday to meet current capacity
numbers.
The Army
Aviation Center of Excellence is seeking information from commercial aviation
industry partners and aviation training providers on solutions and
methodologies that inform the Army’s analysis and development of options to
transform the flight training at Fort Novosel. The Army also highlights the potential
replacement of the current training helicopter (Lakota LUH-72) to reduce costs,
gain efficiency, and maintain or increase aviation training quality.
In August, a Fort Novosel UH-72 Lakota experienced a mishap that injured three crew members.
“Once again,
the goal of the effort is to explore Courses of Action that could reduce costs,
gain efficiencies, and maintain or increase aviation training quality,” the Army
said.
The Army envisions
a long-term contract that will provide a modern Adult Learning Model maximizing
innovation, efficiency, and technology to more effectively train the next
generation of Army Aviation Professionals. The model must maximize efficiency
and throughput while increasing aviator quality.
Over the
past 20 years, the annual number of initial pilots produced has been between
980 and 1,400 a year. These pilots must graduate from this program at a rate to
ensure availability to fill advanced airframe seats for the AH-64E, UH-60M,
CH-47F, C-12U, and the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft. Currently, this
equates to inducting 50-54 aviators every two weeks. The maximum student input
in the past 10 Fiscal Years has been 1,380 students annually.
The overall
objective is to create a new pilot prepared to be successful as they transition
to their U.S. Army Airframe (AH-64E/UH-60M/CH-47F/C-12U).
