MacDill Air Force Base Shows Off Tower And Flight Simulators

With all this sprawling coastline jutting out into Tampa Bay, U.S. Air Force Col. Larry Martin wants to tell people about his little community.

"A lot of people in Tampa think that South Tampa ends at our north fence line," he said. "But a lot more goes on at MacDill than most realize."

The base is one of just a few around the country plunked smack dab in the middle of a metropolitan area and good community relations are a must, he said.

Martin, the commander of MacDill, has made a priority of interacting with the city and Bay area community, and today he offered up a tour of the facility that boasts state-of-the-art flight training facilities and an around-the-clock coastal security zone.

MacDill's flight simulator also is used by pilots from other bases, said Mark Vanderkarr, a civilian trainer who oversees the simulator's use. He sits behind the fake cockpit and punches in one or more of the 476 things that can go wrong during a flight.

Problems like bad weather, hurricane winds, poor visibility, flying in tight formations and even flocks of birds.

The simulator is one of 19 at air bases around the country, Vanderkarr said.

On the opposite side of the base, on the sixth floor of the narrow flight tower, is the air traffic control simulator. The screen in front of the computers provides an exact depiction of MacDill and includes the downtown skyline in the distance. Military airplanes land and take off during the simulation, as trainees give orders to pilots.

Tower trainees and seasoned controllers all come here to be trained or to brush up on certification, said Sgt. Timothy Enright, the tower training chief.

The simulator cost $850,000 when it was installed four years ago. The program can simulate just about any air base in the nation and abroad, including those in hostile regions, he said.

To protect all this, Master Sgt. Craig Campbell, who oversees the Air Force's marine unit, uses two patrol boats that prowl the base's shoreline around the clock. The biggest headache for him: Beer Can Island, a spit of land in the bay used for partying by recreational boaters. Sometimes, they wander into restricted areas and that's when the patrol boats arrive.

"People ask me what kind of airplane I fly," said the reservist. "I tell them I fly a boat."

Martin said the message he wants to send with today's tour is that MacDill is like a city unto itself, even though its residents, including more than 11,000 service members and civilians, are part of the Bay area community.

One of the best parts of the job?

"The support we get from the outside," he said.