F-35 flight simulator offers rare experience for Milwaukee-based company

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – A F-35 fighter jet simulator is making a stop in Milwaukee this week.

Employees at Derco, a Lockheed Martin company, are getting the chance to experience what it would be like to pilot a fighter jet.

The Lockheed Martin flight simulator travels around the country and is only in Milwaukee for a few days. Users can simulate flying in three different models of the fighter jet used by the U.S. Air Force.

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Christine Mau is the world’s first-ever female F-35 fighter pilot. Now, she works for Lockheed Martin.

“Every time we’ve said, who wants to fly? Half of the room hands go up,” she said. “Everybody ultimately gets in. I think they are enjoying it a lot and really liking it.”

The president of Derco thinks it is a good experience for the employees.

“There’s no better way to allow our employees to see what the broader corporation is doing than to demonstrate the actual technology that they’re inventing.”

The simulator is leaving Milwaukee on Friday. It will stop at the Air Force Academy next week.