WEBVTT

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(peaceful music)

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- [Celeste] Three
Barksdale airmen unveiled

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a new virtual reality
procedures trainer July 7th

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at StrikeWerx in Bossier City, Louisiana.

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The training system, designed to improve

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B-52 student pilot training,

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has been in development
for nearly seven months.

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Major Mark Budgeon,
Major Justin Stephenson,

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and Major Brandon Wolf worked closely

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with King Crow Studios, a virtual reality

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safety and procedures
training development company,

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to bring the project to
this stage of development.

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- As soon as the students know
they're coming to the B-52,

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they'll get a headset or a
laptop or access to the software,

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so now they can start
going through the training

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right from day one.

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They're watching 360-degree videos,

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so now they're watching someone do it

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as they're learning about it.

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- [Celeste] The virtual
reality procedures trainer

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will reform pilot training
by giving full accessibility

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to the students.

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As long as they have a computer

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that can run the necessary equipment,

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they can study, practice,

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and fly in a virtual reality at home,

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allowing them to learn at their own pace.

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In turn, it will produce
more proficient B-52 pilots

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in a shorter amount of time.

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- We're just kind of shrinking

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that overall training timeline,

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so they should know all
the basic procedures

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when they start flying the actual aircraft

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versus us teaching them a lot of that

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in the simulator working
the actual airplane.

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- [Celeste] King Crow Studios
is currently developing

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a prototype that teaches the
basic procedures of a B-52,

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walking through checklists step-by-step

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and identifying the correct
switches in the cockpit.

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They plan on being
finished with the prototype

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around their contract's
one-year mark in December.

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From Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana,

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this is Airman First Class
Celeste Zuniga reporting.

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(light techno music)