The US Air Force is using Specular Theory’s Experiential Air Refuelling Lightweight Simulator (EARL) at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, to train B-52 Stratofortress student pilots before their first live tanker flight. Integrated into the I-BUFF programme, the virtual-reality system has helped trainees make tanker contact on their first live sortie while reducing the flying time needed to reach refuelling proficiency.
EARL combines a VR headset with a custom control yoke, throttles and instructor monitoring to replicate the approach to a tanker and the visual cues and control inputs required to connect with its refuelling boom. The system was developed by Specular Theory in collaboration with Wolf, while Louisiana Tech University supported development of the Integrated B-52 Unit Flight Familiarisation syllabus.
An Air Force analysis of 233 B-52 student pilots found that those completing the structured VR curriculum required an average of 1.7 fewer sorties and 39 fewer minutes of flight time to achieve proficiency than students trained using traditional methods. The recovered time can be allocated to other elements of the syllabus, including weapons-range training and landings.
EARL supplements rather than replaces live flying. It allows students to rehearse the manoeuvre, practise under increased cognitive workload and encounter stressful scenarios without using a tanker or operational aircraft. Early use of the simulator was less effective without a formal curriculum, with engagement and performance improving after the I-BUFF structure and cognitive-training elements were introduced.