Case Study: Western Army National Guard Aviation Training Site trains UH-72A maintainers with DiSTI Virtual Maintenance Trainer

Western Army National Guard Aviation Training Site - Customer Case Study

Western Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (WAATS) needed a better way to train maintainers for the UH-72A Lakota, an FAA-registered Army aircraft that must be maintained to strict flight-safety standards. With more than 20 LUH-72s supporting civil authorities and border operations, the site needed a highly accurate training approach that would let students practice complex maintenance tasks before working on the actual helicopter. DiSTI provided the Virtual Maintenance Trainer (VMT) for the UH-72A Light Helicopter Repairer Course.

DiSTI’s 12-workstation VMT gave students an interactive virtual workspace to learn and practice 66 essential maintenance tasks on large screens, desktops, and mobile devices, using VE Studio software for development and test. Implemented at WAATS in Marana, Arizona in early 2016, the trainer graduated its first class that June and later continued under option year 2 of Interim Contractor Support. The program now trains nearly 100 students per year and serves as a reference for more than 150 student pilots and other aircraft maintainers.

Western Army National Guard Aviation Training Site

John Morelos

Battalion Commander