Journal of The Society of Flight Test Engineers; Volume III, Number 1, January, 1981

Format is approximately 8.5 inches by 11 inches. 48 plus covers. Footnote. Formulae, Illustrations. References. Table of Contents contains: Analytical Methods for Store Separation Flight Test [submitted by Vernon Scott Ritchey, Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB] and Airborne Video Instrumentation/Data Reduction [submitted by James E. Soller, McDonnell Aircraft Company]. The Society of Flight Test Engineers is a fraternity of engineers, whose principal professional interest is the flight testing of aerospace vehicles. The Editor, Edward N. Bradfield, was employed for 35 years as a flight test engineer by the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California and later by the Northrop Grumman Corporation. His work included performance/flying qualities testing and systems evaluations on a variety of Air Force, Navy, and civilian aircraft including the B-l and B-2 bombers, B-52G Cruise Missile Carrier, F5F, KC-135R Tanker, C-5A Wing Modification, C-130, YC-14 STOL Transport, Boeing 737, French Mirage G, P-1127, OV-1, A-4, and numerous classified aircraft programs, some of which are on display in the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops and gathers data during flight of an aircraft, or atmospheric testing of launch vehicles and reusable spacecraft, and then analyzes the data to evaluate the integrity and aerodynamic flight characteristics of the vehicle in order to validate the design, including safety aspects. The flight test phase accomplishes two major tasks: 1) finding and fixing any design problems and then 2) verifying and documenting the vehicle capabilities for government certification or customer acceptance. The flight test phase can range from the test of a single new system for an existing vehicle to the complete development and certification of a new aircraft, launch vehicle, or reusable spacecraft. Therefore, the duration of a particular flight test program can vary from a few weeks to many years. Military programs differ from commercial in that the government contracts with the aircraft manufacturer to design and build an aircraft to meet specific mission capabilities. These performance requirements are documented to the manufacturer in the aircraft specification and the details of the flight test program (among many other program requirements) are spelled out in the statement of work. In this case, the government is the customer and has a direct stake in the aircraft's ability to perform the mission. Since the government is funding the program, it is more involved in the aircraft design and testing from early-on. Often military test pilots and engineers are integrated as part of the manufacturer's flight test team, even before first flight. The final phase of the military aircraft flight test is the Operational Test (OT). OT is conducted by a government-only test team with the dictate to certify that the aircraft is suitable and effective to carry out the intended mission. Flight testing of military aircraft is often conducted at military flight test facilities. The US Navy tests aircraft at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and the US Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base. The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School are the programs designed to teach military test personnel. The make-up of the Flight Test Team will vary with the organization and complexity of the flight test program, however, there are some key players who are generally part of all flight test organizations. The leader of a flight test team is usually a flight test engineer (FTE) or possibly an experimental test pilot. Other FTEs or pilots could also be involved. Other team members would be the Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer, Instrumentation System Technicians, the aircraft maintenance department (mechanics, electrical techs, avionics technicians, etc.), Quality/Product Assurance Inspectors, the ground-based computing/data center personnel. …