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Advanced training tool benefits aircrew

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tara A. Williamson
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The joint base is host to four flying wings containing more than 600 aircrew members who must maintain current on hypoxia training every five years to remain on their flight status. This process has recently been improved after Air Combat Command approved the newest equipment to be issued to the installation.

For joint base members, hypoxia training used to mean traveling to a base with an altitude chamber. These chambers can hold about 20 members and deprives them of a proper oxygen supply, mimicking pressure in flight at 25,000 feet.

Capt. Michael Vastola and Staff Sgt. Nazareth Oliver, 87th Aerospace Medicine Squadron physiologists, have spent seven months working to acquire the latest asset to train personnel locally. This saves the base time and travel funds and is also the first time the installation has seen this capability.

Vastola and Oliver have focused the last three months on installing and learning to operate a one-person trainer, which uses a virtual flight program to distract the user while hypoxia is induced.

"Twenty people versus one person at a time, you might think, 'that's a limiting factor;' but it really isn't," Vastola said. "We can put one-hour blocks all over the schedule, and it fits the aircrew member's schedule, so they can fly in the morning and come in the afternoon and do hypoxia training without any restrictions, or vice versa."

The trainer will be able to certify between six to eight people per day. With 160 hours in an average working month, the two physiologists will also be able to cater to aircrew members in the eastern area who will travel to the joint base for training. Several outside units have already begun scheduling to use the training device.

"There are about four hours of academics the aircrew members will receive, then this trainer will satisfy the requirement for them to understand the altitude-threat hypoxia, how to recognize the threat, then use their aircrew flight equipment to treat the threat," Vastola said.

Though aircraft possess carefully conditioned cockpits, at higher altitudes aircraft cabin pressure may drop if decompression conditions occur, examples include a cracked door seal or cabin window. This can cause pilots to have difficulty breathing without an increase in oxygen; if they aren't able to fix the balance right away, hypoxia will occur. A pure oxygen flow is then needed to reestablish a non-hypoxic state. If symptoms of hypoxia become overwhelming, it may cause the pilot to lose control of the aircraft.

The altitude chamber previously used has a vacuum that removes the pressure, where the new one-person simulator uses a mixture of nitrogen and air brought in by gas cylinders through the reduced oxygen breathing device.

Within one to three minutes, a user will begin to recognize symptoms of hypoxia. These symptoms can include hot or cold flashes, numbness, tingling, headaches, behavioral changes, reduced level of consciousness, and many others; each individual will feel different indicators. When he or she experiences the symptoms, they simply indicate to the facilitator to release the oxygen and experience a quick relief of symptoms.

Col. Frederick D. Thaden, JB MDL and 87th Air Base Wing commander, demonstrated the trainer for a group of base commanders and showed signs of labored breathing and a headache before signaling for the oxygen dump to recover.

Thaden, along with leaders of the base's flying wings and the 87th MDG, were invited to see the installation's newest training apparatus in action before it was available to aircrew members.

"This is a joint effort between the 87th Medical Group and the 305th Operations Group," said Col. Andrew Cole, 87th Medical Group commander. "It's a great partnership to bring aerospace physiology and oxygen deprivation training here. This is a great capability for Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to have."