MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Thursday was a celebratory day as the 186th Air Refueling Wing held a ceremony to mark the return of the KC-135 flight simulator.
This aircraft simulator was housed at Key Field for 17 years before being removed for reorganization in 2005.
The main task is to instruct the flight crew in procedures and techniques for the safe operation of an aircraft.
“This is a big day for Meridian. This project has been over a decade in the making. We fought to bring the simulator back to Meridian and we succeeded. It took not only military leadership but also the cooperation of state, federal and local officials to get the simulator back to Meridian,” said Congressman Michael Guest.
“Of the Air National Guard’s 16 KC-135 bases, less than a quarter have a flight simulator. Having one on site provides the ability to train our flight crews regardless of maintenance status or weather conditions, and we can also simulate many system failures that simply cannot be safely recreated in the aircraft,” said Colonel Cynthia Smith.
“And not only will our pilots benefit, but pilots from other states will be able to come here and train with this simulator, day in and day out. And that’s what it’s all about. You need simulators to have the very best pilots, and that’s what we have in the Mississippi National Guard,” said Maj. Gen. Bobby Ginn.
The 186th Air Refueling Squadron looks forward to hosting this simulator for a long time.
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