The Air Force is using virtual reality to teach airmen how to… paint
This gives us unlimited hours of practice without spending money on materials and exposing students to hazards.”
By David Roza May 13, 2021
One thing is certain about the U.S. Air Force: they sure love a good virtual reality simulator. The branch uses virtual reality to prepare airmen for a range of jobs such as piloting aircraft, maintenance, aerial refueling, emergency medicine, policing and even suicide intervention. Now Big Blue is putting the full force of its technological might into the greatest national security challenge facing America … teaching airmen how to paint aircraft.
That’s right, in a press release on Monday the Air Force proudly unveiled its latest training simulator, which gives airmen a chance to spray just enough paint to adequately cover the aircraft, but not too much, which would add unnecessary weight. As silly as it sounds, aircraft paint actually plays an important role protecting the machine from corrosion, which one airman explained is the leading cost of maintenance repair in the Air Force.
“Properly applying paint is vital to the protection of metals used in aircraft construction,” said Master Sgt. Juan De La Rosa, of the 318th Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, in the press release. “Too much paint and you add weight to the aircraft, not enough paint and you run the risk of corrosion developing.”
https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/air-force-virtual-reality-painting-aircraft/
