Aerospace technicians keep students in the air Published May 8, 2013 By Senior Airman Frank Casciotta 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Vance aerospace physiology technicians are essential to keeping student pilots in the air. Technicians like Airman 1st Class William Ensrud, with the 71st Medical Operations Squadron, contribute to that goal. They teach students in-flight and ground egress procedures, the importance of relying on aircraft instruments, how to use their life support equipment, how to cope with high-altitude conditions through the use of a hypobaric chamber and proper procedures for landing after a parachute fall, or a PLF, said Ensrud. Overcoming air sickness is another technique taught by techs like Ensrud. The aerospace physiology unit here employs three methods to manage air sickness. The orientation spin and the air sickness management program, or AMP, and an extension of the AMP program called Dynamic, said Ensrud, a Chico, Calif., native. These programs use a Barany chair to induce the physiological effects of whipping through the air at more than 200 mph. "We offer the orientation spin to any students who feel they might suffer from any type of motion sickness," said Ensrud. "It gives them a chance to nip it in the bud before it becomes a problem." Students who get sick during a flight go through the AMP, which is three-day program designed to equip students with breathing and physical techniques to prevent air sickness. The Dynamic is a five-day program reserved for students who go through AMP, but still get sick during flight. "It's similar to AMP but more intensive," said Ensrud. In each program, students are spun in a Barany chair for 10-minute intervals and perform maneuvers that cause the same physiological effects they will experience during flight. The AMP and Dynamic programs not only save students' careers with a 99 percent success rate, they saved the Air Force $196 million in training costs between 2010 and 2012.