10 Naval Aviation News January–February 2000

By JOSN Amy L. Pittmann

With photos by JO1 Joshua M. Hudson

As the sun sets behind the hangar bay at the U.S. NavalTest Pilot School (TPS), Patuxent River, Md., morethan 12 different types of aircraft are put to bed.

Since TPS students get to experience flying a diverse mix,it’s easy to understand why pilots, flight officers and engi-neers are drawn here. But being allowed to fly these aircraftrequires a unique commitment. Students must undergo a rig-orous 11-month program of academics and practical flightevaluation, during which they are required to complete 550classroom hours and a minimum of 150 flight hours.

Testing the Limits

Naval Aviation News January–February 2000 11

A pilot runs through the checklist as he prepares for an early morning flight in a T-38 Talon.

After months of catnaps and endless lines at the coffeemachine, students travel to somewhere they’ve neverbeen and fly aircraft they’ve never flown, then write upthe results. This 14-day final exam combines all of thelab and practical skills the students have developed into a75 to 150 page formal technical paper. Upon graduationNavy and Marine Corps students go to test and evalua-tion squadrons, Air Force and Army students and civilianengineers return to their commands, and foreign militarypersonnel return to their services.

If the program is so demanding, why are thereso many packages submitted to attend theschool? Being able to fly a variety of air-craft is one reason that CommanderBob Stoney, executive officer of TPS,keeps returning. Stoney was unfamiliarwith the school when he came to visit afriend in 1984. “I didn’t know muchabout TPS, but when I walked throughthe hangar, that was it, I wanted tocome fly all the cool planes,” he said.

Since Cdr. Stoney’s graduation in1984 he has returned as an instructor,chief flight instructor and most recentlyas XO. Other than the opportunity tofly various aircraft, it is the impacttest pilots have on the fleet andthe energy of the studentsand staff at TPS thatdraws him back.

“The professionalism and sense of mission, and every-one’s desire to do the right thing is incredible. For thetesters I guess it’s the pride of knowing your job affectsthe safety of the entire fleet. This is a unique opportunityto belong to something important,” Cdr. Stoney stated.

A safety-conscious pilot may seem to conflict with themovie image of a white-scarfed, tire-kicking daredevil,but the spirit and love for the job are still there. TPS stu-dents must have the passion and skills for flying that arenecessary to shoulder the immense responsibility of test-ing aircraft.

The students’ dedication is challenged at TPS. Theyattend 11 months of training within one of three curricu-lums. The Fixed and Rotary Wing curriculums trainpilots and engineers to evaluate aircraft performance andflying quality. The Airborne Systems curriculum instructsflight officers and engineers in airborne mission systemstest and evaluation. Each provides instruction in acade-mics, flight test preparation, flight test conduct,data collection, data reduction and test reportpreparation. All curriculums teach students tothink beyond the skin of their aircraft.

Testing aircraft requires time and meticu-lous attention to detail. Students work longdays with few breaks. They typicallyspend the first half of the day in academiclabs, developing the technical backgroundthat will support the flight program. Thesecond half of the day is devoted to flying.Then the student goes on to what some call

Safety is of critical concern at TPS.This pilot is preparing to flight test anOH-58 Kiowa after repairs to see if it isflight worthy for the students.Increasingly, these jobs are performedby permanent contracted staff.

the “third half of the day.”Students work late writingreports, studying and filing paper-work. Success demands that stu-dents be very interested in whatthey’re doing. Student Lieutenant

Commander Michelle Guidry said, “They throw a lot atyou in a very short time period; its kind of like survivalswimming—they throw you in the water and you eithertread or sink. You have to really like what you do, other-wise you get frustrated with it and don’t want to do itanymore.”

The typical student at TPS has a Bachelor of Sciencedegree in engineering, mathematics or physical science,and at least 1,000 flight hours. All military aviators (ingrades 02 to 05) are eligible to apply to the school. Aselection board evaluates applicants based on academicbackground, piloting skills and the needs of the service.Qualities such as the applicant’s professionalism andmotivation are also considered.

The school receives 120 to 140 applications for eachclass and accepts about 36 students per class for this

14 Naval Aviation News January–February 2000

Students spend half of their day in classrooms and labs learning theskills to plan and evaluate their tests from instructors like J. J. McCue,right. Below, sometimes getting ready for a flight takes longer than theflight itself. For USAF pilot Maj. Nils Larson, an instructor, donning a drysuit is only one of many steps to be completed before strapping in forflight testing.

Classroom to Cockpit

highly competitive program. Each class con-venes every six months with a variety of stu-dents from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, AirForce and Army, as well as civil service engi-neers and students from other countries.

Becoming a TPS instructor is also a chal-lenge. Before instructors are accepted to TPSthey have to demonstrate their abilities totheir test squadron and to the school. Thereare basically two types of instructors: junior,or pit, instructors and senior instructors. A pitinstructor is typically less than two years outof TPS.

Navy Lieutenant Ronald Bishop graduated from TPSin 1997 and never thought he would be on the staff. “Thelonger I was away from the school the more appreciationI had for what goes on here, and the more I wanted toaffect the product that goes into the testing community.Testing aircraft is becoming more technically complex.

The school focuses a loton how to be a tester, butthere is a lot of other stuffyou’re responsible for as aproject officer. I was hop-ing to incorporate some ofthat into the students’experience,” Bishopemphasized.

Before becoming a TPSinstructor, Bishop was working with developmental test-ing in the E-2 Hawkeye with the Force Aircraft TestSquadron at Patuxent River. He cut his tour short tobecome an instructor, in order to make what he considersa great impact on the future of developmental testing. “Itall starts with the testers who are trained to test and eval-uate things efficiently and safely. It’s our job to train

Naval Aviation News January–February 2000 15

Randy Hepp

US

NT

PS

file

phot

o

TPS maintains and operates 40 aircraft of 12 different types. Above, an NU-1BOtter prepares to take flight while a T-38A Talon and a T-2C Buckeye look on.Right, the NP-3D Orion is used to teach general techniques for systems testingand evaluation. The Army OH-58 Kiowa, below, introduces fixed-wing students tovertical takeoff and landing, and teaches students in the rotary-wing curriculumto evaluate helicopter flying qualities and performance.

Training to Testing

testers so they can get a product outto the fleet that is capable ofdefending the United States,”Bishop said.

As a pit instructor, Bishop said hedeals with the nitty-gritty detailsof exercises along with the stu-dents. The students’ routine beginswith being assigned a mission duringthe academic portion of the day. Theyprepare for the mission, fly the mission andthen come back to write a report evaluating it.More complicated, however, is the planning involved inthe whole process. It starts the moment students areassigned an exercise. They must define mission-relatabletasks and how hard it is to do those tasks in order towrite a report afterwards. “If students can define exactlywhat they are going to do before they go up, they cancome back and talk intelligently about the mission intheir reports,” Bishop explained.

Reports are paramount in learning the testing process.LCdr. Guidry explained that “there’s . a process behind

everything you .analyze. In thereport you can’t just say there’ssomething wrong with the system oraircraft, or that some- . thingcould be better. You have . toexplain in great detail how it can bebetter. Now I tend to do that ineveryday life, and it drives people

crazy.”. Testers are trained to look at the

smallest details of many different aircraft.The testing process taught at TPS makes this

possible. With all the different technologies and aircraft,testers need common testing methods. Instructor BobMiller quoted a friend describing how the process works:“If we can teach students to properly test a toaster, forexample, and how to report on it, the fact that it’s anF/A-18 instead of a toaster is incidental.” Miller said thatalthough the analogy oversimplifies the process, the truthremains that once students understand the technology,testing is as simple as the method.

The diversity of aircraft at TPS makes a student’s

16 Naval Aviation News January–February 2000

TPS F/A-18 Hornets show their colorsover NAS Patuxent River, Md. Photo by Vernon Pugh

experience more difficult, but also more interesting.“You’re at the forefront of any type of new systems oraircraft. Any change to an existing aircraft has to be test-ed, so you get to see the new stuff and get an idea ofwhere things are going,” Guidry pointed out.

The TPS process is also part of the reason testing air-craft has become less risky. Everything is so wellplanned that there is less chance for surprises in the air.

The use of simulators also contributes to the safety oftesting aircraft. Although simulators can’t always predictwhat will happen in the real world, they do help reducethe risk of flight testing. They work well in the middle ofthe envelope, but it’s out at the ragged edges, wherespins and catapult tests push the edge of the envelope,that simulators typically can’t replicate the aircraft. Evenwith increased development for simulators in the future,there will still be a greatneed for flight testing.

As systems become morecomplicated and harder totest on simulation equip-ment, testers must ensureeverything is safe for fleetuse. Lt. Bishop emphasized,“Testers respect the dangerin their jobs and go throughthe appropriate steps toensure their safety and thesafety of the aircraft. It’snot like the Chuck Yeagerdays where you go out andkick the tires and light thefires.”

According to Miller, it’snot just technology that hasincreased testing safety.Students are much saferand more professionaltoday. He recalls that in hisstudent days there werefewer safety rules. Now, asan instructor he feels it’spart of his job to tell thestories of how accidentshappened because of thelack of rules. It’s aboutteaching students to avoidthe old mistakes, andencouraging them to followthe rules that have beendeveloped for safety. But,he warned, “Don’t thinkthat the rules mean nochallenge or danger. Thereare always challenges with-

in the perimeter the systems dictate, so even the mostmundane test can be dangerous.”

The experience of testing aircraft isn’t just aboutresponsibility and risk, it also affords the opportunity tofly and have a rewarding career. Cdr. Stoney stated, “It’sa tough job, but where else can you have this kind ofimpact on the fleet. The tremendous responsibility I hadas a young lieutenant and the opportunity to so somepretty cool things with aircraft during and after TPS wasgreat. Now, as an instructor I get to see students doingthose same things. It’s great because we start with thebest pilots, flight officers and flight test engineers andjust polish them, and we get to see 36 new testers walkout the door every six months.”

As LCdr. Guidry nears her graduation, she feels shehas gained a new confidence from her experiences. “I

will soon be leaving herewith my certificate sayingthat I am a test pilot. Thosedon’t come easy. And thenthere’s the flight time. Icame here having onlyflown four aircraft, butnow I’ve flown over 20different types. From asslow as they go to as fastas they go, we get to do itall here and that’s whatbeing a pilot is about.”

Guidry is hoping to fol-low other TPS graduatesand become an astronaut.Upon graduation from TPSshe will earn her Master’sdegree through the U.S.Naval Postgraduate School.“It’s great to know youbelong to an elite group ofpilots,” she said, “but whatis important is the uniqueexperience I’ve had atTPS.”

TPS provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for stu-dents to become masters oftheir profession. And bytesting the limits whileevaluating a wide variety ofaircraft, students gainknowledge that translates tosafer aircraft and systemsfor the fleet.

Naval Aviation News January–February 2000 17