USAF Test Pilot School test management program

The United States Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) performs six to eight flight test management projects (TMP) annually. The TMPs cover all aspects of flight test including performance, flying qualities, avionic systems, and human factors. The flight tests are performed for a wide variety of government agencies and commercial sector companies. Test teams are composed of TPS students with a broad base of aviation and research flight experience. Student teams consist of four to six students made up of a 50/50 percent pilot/engineer mix. The test projects address all phases of testing from program introduction, through test plan working groups, technical/safety review boards, and test execution, to final oral and written reports. The test execution occurs over a period of 3 to 4 weeks and generally encompasses 4 to 20 flight test sorties. This paper provides the background of the USAF Test Pilot School program in general and the test management projects in particular. An overview of TPS technical capabilities and resources is provided. Examples of recent TMPs are detailed. These examples include efforts with Air Force research laboratories, Air Force major commands, and Technology Transfer programs using Cooperative Research and Development Agreements between the government and private companies INTRODUCTION The United States Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) is the premier institute for training test pilots, test navigators, and flight test engineers in the conduct of flight test and evaluation of research, prototype, and production aerospace vehicles, systems, and weapons. The capstone event of the TPS curriculum is the test management program (TMP) in which student teams perform an extensive flight test project in support of a broad base of outside agencies. The TMP provides comprehensive end-to-end training in all phases of test management and execution. These programs provide students with practical hands-on test experience from program introduction to writing the final report and providing oral presentations of test results, conclusions, and recommendations to the customer and Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTQ leadership and technical personnel. The program presents students the opportunity to apply the technical, management, and leadership concepts taught during the course. Emphasis is placed on understanding customer technical requirements within the constraints of cost and schedule demands. To date, TPS has been exceptionally successful in meeting customer requirements and providing real world training for its students. The purpose of this paper is to highlight our recent programs, and to inform outside agencies of our capabilities to perform low cost, quick-reaction flight test programs. USAF TEST PILOT SCHOOL COURSE OVERVIEW The USAF Test Pilot School provides training in three courses: the Experimental Test Pilot Course, Test Navigator Course, and Flight Test Engineer Course. The courses are integrated to instill cooperation and understanding between test team members which is essential for successful flight test operations. Data group teams plan, fly, evaluate, and report on selected test projects throughout the course. The flying program for the pilots develops the knowledge, flying precision, and powers of observation necessary for successful flight evaluations. The flying program for navigators and engineers leads to an understanding of problems pilots encounter and familiarizes them with airborne test tasks needed to accomplish precise flight test techniques. Navigators and engineers perform extensive evaluations of airborne avionics and weapons systems to determine suitability under operational conditions. The course is divided into four phases: (1) Performance, (2) Flying Qualities, (3) Systems Test, and (4) Test Management The Performance Phase develops the theory and methods of evaluating aircraft takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, turn, acceleration, propulsion, and landing performance. The Flying Qualities Phase examines the stability and control characteristics which influence the ease of safely flying the aircraft during steady and maneuvering flight in execution of the total mission. During this phase, aircraft are tested to determine static and dynamic characteristics, estimate stability parameters, evaluate flight control system effectiveness, and measure engine-out handling quality characteristics. The Systems Test Phase evaluates aircraft avionics and their system integration. The Performance, Flying Qualities, and System Test Phases all have integrated academic and flying programs to maximize student training effectiveness. The Test Management Phase academics are integrated throughout the program with the actual test management project execution occurring during the latter part of the course. USAF TEST PILOT SCHOOL TECHNICAL RESOURCES The curriculum is supported with state-of-the-art instrumented aircraft and contemporary data acquisition and analysis systems. TPS serves as a self-contained Combined Test Force (CTF) providing extensive technical capabilities for complete flight test engineering. TPS instructs basic flight test techniques with four instrumented T-38A aircraft. The T-38A aircraft are instrumented with sensitive cockpit instrumentation (airspeed, altimeter, mach, g, angle of attack, and sideslip gauges) and a programmable data acquisition system. All four aircraft possess onboard data recorders and telemetry