NASM pilots glimpse future

Naval Air Station Meridian student-pilots got a glimpse into the future of Naval aviation last month when they were allowed to step into the cockpit of the Navy’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter simulator. Many of today’s NASM student-aviators, along with several dozen Navy and Marine Corps pilots now in training at Eglin AFB, Fla., will be flying the fifth generation aircraft. Both instructor Rick Royer and the Lockheed Martin F-35 flight simulator are on a tour of military installations and science and trade shows across America. The LM similar was at NASM “to show these young pilots the future of aviation,” said the 22-year veteran. It was a chance to give the NASM pilots-in-training “a little time in the simulator so they can see the ‘wow factor’ this aircraft has.” Source: NAS Meridian Skyline, 04/03/14.