Boeing

Boeing and the U.S. Air Force celebrated the opening of the first F-22 maintenance training facility Nov. 29 with a ribbon-cutting and site dedication ceremony at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

Boeing, teamed with Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney to design and build the F-22 Raptor for the Air Force, has lead responsibility for the aft fuselage, avionics integration and the overall F-22 training system for pilots and maintenance personnel.

Nellis Air Force Base's Detachment 13, of the Air Education and Training Command's 372nd Training Squadron, is the first F-22 training facility.

"This detachment provides an excellent environment for the transfer of knowledge, skills and confidence to future F-22 maintenance personnel," said Boeing Training System Manager Pamela Valdez. "Training is a key element to high-mission readiness for the aircraft."

The $800,000 facility expansion covers approximately 5,000 square feet and includes five fully automated classrooms, a hands-on training lab and an F-119 engine bay. The detachment will use the facilities to provide F-22 maintenance training to personnel in nine different Air Force specialties. An additional expansion, scheduled for completion next spring, will house a full-size F-22 seat and canopy trainer.

"The days of overhead projectors and hard copy technical orders are over," said Capt. Rich Flamand, Detachment Commander. "These new facilities give us 21st century training capabilities for a 21st century aircraft."

In addition to Nellis, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, will be home to other F-22 maintenance electronic classrooms and laboratories.

01-149