U.S. Air Force 356th Airlift Squadron Improves Performance and Saves $1.3M Annually with Virtual Hangar
The 356th Airlift Squadron, responsible for training C-5M Super Galaxy aircrew at Lackland AFB, faced serious challenges: limited aircraft availability, high operating costs, instructor bandwidth issues, and training delays. These constraints made it difficult to certify Loadmasters and Flight Engineers effectively.
To address this, Mass Virtual deployed its Virtual Hangar platform, developing a full-scale C-5 Virtual Fuselage Trainer (FuT) that replicated the aircraft and procedures in a fully immersive VR environment. Within months, Virtual Hangar was live with modules including gear extension, walkarounds, load planning, and more — supporting over 500 students annually.
Measured Results:
- 74% improvement in student performance
- $1.3M in annual savings
- 38% reduction in manual gear extensions
- 7 flight hours saved for Flight Engineers
- Significant fuel and APU cost reductions
Instructors also noted a 73.7% effectiveness rating from students who trained on gear extensions in VR and translated that directly to real aircraft operations. The solution enabled self-directed learning, reduced dependency on real aircraft, and improved training efficiency across the board.
Today, the 356th AS uses Virtual Hangar as a mission-critical solution to enhance readiness, save resources, and ensure safe, qualified aircrew across the U.S. Air Force.
