UPS - - "What can UPS do for Blue?"

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Travis Antoniono
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  When the lights go out at Laughlin, the mission of producing America's best pilots can be severely hindered. Fortunately, the sun now shines on the base as Laughlin's Simulator building has fully installed its state-of-the-art UPS system.

The Uninterruptible Power Supply system is comprised of six large computer operated units that each store multiple commercial size batteries in temperature controlled rooms.

"The system will provide seamless, clean power that is capable of handling all the simulators for up to six hours if the main power is lost or interrupted," said Eric Welfl, Superior Power Solutions.

"Due to the fact that Laughlin is on the tail end of the power grid, it is no surprise that the base experiences many power shortages each year," said Dale Powers, a simulator technician.

Powers continued by explaining that each time there is a power glitch or shortage, there is a huge impact because sim rides have had to be cancelled and circuits are often fried. An analysis of just one of Laughlin's 18 simulators showed that there was $61,000 worth of damage to its circuits during the course of a year.

With the UPS system in place, we will now be able to significantly reduce these expenses, said Powers.

"All the expenses add up and on top of that we have had nearly 500 hours of training lost during the last year attributed to problems with the power," said, John Freeman, Sim building project officer.

"With a cost of more than $620,000, it was vital to ensure that the UPS system will pay for itself in the future," said Freeman.

When adding up the total predicted savings, including equipment and man hours, it is estimated that within 18 months the UPS system will have paid for itself, said Freeman.

This is a significant advancement in the progression of Laughlin to accomplish its mission, said Freeman.