Scott AFB to become 'one stop C-21 shop'

Published April 6, 2011
By Bekah Clark
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The 458th Airlift Squadron will become the home of the sole C-21 formal training unit in the Air Force over the next four months as it re-gains the C-21 training mission from the 45th Airlift Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.

The 45th AS will dissolve as a unit underneath Air Education & Training Command and will once again fall under Air Mobility Command's 375th Operations Group. The C-21 training mission had belonged to Scott up until the early 90s.

The first class, an initial qualification course, began April 4.

While the 458th AS will gain no aircraft and only one military position from the move, it will be a beneficial transformation for the 458th and the Air Force as a whole.

"The 375th Operations Group already serves as the central hub for the majority of the U.S. Air Force's C-21's Operational Support Airlift mission. By making the group the hub for all C-21 training as well the Air Force will have a centralized, consistent focal point for all things C-21," said Col. Terry Ward, 375th OG commander.

"Additionally, as the main operator of the airframe, our ability to bring lessons learned from the field immediately and directly into the training environment will give the Air Force an extra level of guarantee that these pilots are prepared to handle any situation that might arise in the air or on the ground," he said.

According to Maj. Scott Russell, a 458th AS instructor pilot and program manager for the project, the mission addition for the 458th began back in June of 2010 with the passing of Resource Management Decision 700, which determined that the C-21 fleet would be cut from 56 aircraft to 28.

The training mission, which is open to active duty, Guard and Reserve, will not constitute its own squadron as it did at Keesler; rather it will be added to the pre-existing OSA mission of the 458th.

"The 458th will have six qualified instructor pilots to carry out the C-21 training mission," said Maj. Karl Zurbrugg, 458th AS instructor pilot, who is also aiding in the mission's transition. "These pilots will also continue to fly the regular OSA missions when they aren't instructing."

Two C-21s have been designated for use in the three classes that will be taught by the 458th: initial qualification, instructor pilot training and senior officer training courses.
Initial qualification is for those pilots who are fresh out of pilot training or pilots who are qualified to fly other aircraft but now need C-21 qualification.

Initial qualification is a six-week long course, the first three weeks of which are accomplished at SimuFlite at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. While at SimuFlite, pilots accomplish simulator and receive undergraduate-level classroom instruction. The final three weeks of training are at Scott AFB where the pilots accomplish classroom and in-the-air training. The class is expected to host two to four students at a time.

Instructor pilot training, which will also host two to four students each rotation, teaches C-21 qualified pilots to instruct C-21 pilots in training. The first instructor pilot training course begins July 5.

The instructor pilot training is a five-week long course. During the course, instructor pilot trainees accomplish simulator training at SimuFlite and receive graduate-level classroom instruction. The last two weeks of training are held at Scott where the trainees learn theory of instruction, how to instruct while flying, as well as safety rules and regulations.

"One of the biggest lessons we impart to them is to recognize their own limits as instructors," said Major Zurbrugg. "It's important that they know how to control the situation while they're instructing in the event that the student has a problem or makes a mistake. They're teaching but they're also several thousand feet in the air, it's ultimately the instructor's responsibility to ensure their and their students' safety."

The senior officer course will be held on an as needed basis for senior officers, generally colonels and above, who have been designated by their position or superiors as needing C-21 qualification. Depending on the requirement, this course qualifies senior officers to fly the C-21 as a fully certified crewmember or a crewmember who must fly with an instructor pilot.

The move is being made in support of the fiscal 2011 Force Structure Announcement which will cut the C-21 fleet down from 56 aircraft to 28 by fiscal 2013, seven will be cut in fiscal 2011.

The majority of the Air Force's C-21 fleet is owned by the 375th Operations Group and operated by the 458th AS at Scott, and three geographically separated units, the 311th AS at Peterson AFB, Colo., and the 457th AS at Joint-Base Andrews, Md., and Det. 1 in Oklahoma City, Okla. In light of the force structure announcement the 311th AS will lose one aircraft; the 457th AS will lose three.