Two pilots from the Afghanistan Air Force successfully completed MD 530 pilot training and will join the Afghan Flight School as instructors. The program is part of a Foreign Military Sales case to establish a self-sufficient pilot training program t...
SHINDAND, Afghanistan -- The Afghanistan Air Force has two new instructor pilots in their ranks. The pilots are participating in the MD 530 Rotary Wing Aircraft training program as part of a Foreign Military Sales case managed by the U.S. Army.
The case is facilitated by the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command and managed by the PEO-Aviation's Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft project office. It includes pilot instruction and logistics led by Soldiers from the U.S. Army Security Assistance Training Management Organization, a subordinate command of USASAC.
The two pilots will return as instructors for the program, and brings the total number of Afghan instructors to six who have successfully completed pilot and instructor training.
The Afghan Flight School began in 2011 with the delivery of six MD 530 aircraft, two Flight Training Devices and additional equipment and critical spare parts to Shindand Air Base. The MD 530 course is intended to provide the Afghan Air Corps with a program capable of training, maintaining and sustaining itself without assistance from coalition partners.
The course load includes three phases. The student pilots begin with an eight week Initial Flight Screening process on the Cessna 182 airplane, which includes basic airplane aerodynamics, physiology and an introduction to basic and advanced flight maneuvers. In addition to the initial screening, students also receive language training since all classes are taught in English. The next step for the class of Afghan Air Force lieutenant training candidates is a five-month Undergraduate Helicopter Pilot Training course. After graduating from the MD 530 course, the pilots will train on the Mi-17 in a six week course before being assigned to operational flying positions throughout their country, while some graduates are selected to stay on as instructors for the course.
The program is the first of its kind to be held in Afghanistan in more than 30 years and is projected to be turned over to the Afghan Air Force by 2017.
The USASATMO team is based at Ft. Bragg, N.C., and their motto, "Training the World, One Soldier at a Time," is exemplified by the success of the Afghan Pilot program.
Related Links:
U.S. Army Security Assistance Command
U.S. Army Security Assistance Training Management Organization
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