Control Room Lessons Learned: A Perspective From F-35A Testing

Jeffrey Newcamp

Control Room Lessons Learned: A Perspective From F-35A Testing

Jeffrey Newcamp

Air Transport & Operations

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volume › Conference contribution › Scientific

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Abstract

The U.S. Department of Defense’s largest acquisition program in history, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is a multinational defense program with nine partner nations. As of January 2018, the program’s 260+ flying aircraft have flown over 115,000 flight hours at 14 military installations around the globe. The aircraft’s flight envelope is proven, munitions are cleared for carriage and the aircraft has reached operational capability. One decade prior, AA-1 was the sole flying F-35 struggling to achieve test points because of immature hardware and software. AA-1 and subsequent developmental test aircraft flights were managed by a control room, staffed by a team of flight test engineers. The evolution from requiring 40 control room engineers for a flight to today’s state provides countless lessons learned. This paper encapsulates the flight test period of the F-35A from 2009-2012 and provides practical control room lessons learned from the mistakes and successes made during developmental testing. It is shown that the flight test engineers made advances in control room procedures to accommodate the complexities of the F-35A systems and were thus able to meet the demands of the test program schedule.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Society of Flight Test Engineers - European Chapter Symposium
Place of Publication	Delft, Netherlands
Number of pages	10
Publication status	Published - 30 May 2018
Event	29th Society of Flight Test Engineers European Chapter symposium: The Fewer Aircraft To Flight Test, The More Reason To Share Experience - Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of the Delft University of Technology , Delft, Netherlands Duration: 29 May 2018 → 31 May 2018 Conference number: 29 http://Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of the Delft University of Technology

Conference

Conference	29th Society of Flight Test Engineers European Chapter symposium
Abbreviated title	SFTE EC Symposium 2018
Country/Territory	Netherlands
City	Delft
Period	29/05/18 → 31/05/18
Internet address	http://Faculty of Aerospace Engineering of the Delft University of Technology

Bibliographical note

Major Jeffrey Newcamp is a flight test engineer in the United States Air Force and a PhD candidate at the Delft University of Technology, in Delft, Netherlands. His research foci include aging aircraft, aircraft operations and aircraft safety. Prior to his current work, Major Newcamp was an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Systems Engineering at the United States Air Force Academy. Major Newcamp spent three years as a flight test engineer, test conductor and test director for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He led many ground and flight tests for the program, including these firsts: jet blast deflector testing, aerial refueling qualification, night flight, simulated weapons release and electronic countermeasures. Major Newcamp holds three masters degrees, is a FAA certified private pilot, is an advanced ground instructor and has flight time in 27 military and civilian aircraft types.

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Cite this

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title = "Control Room Lessons Learned: A Perspective From F-35A Testing",

abstract = "The U.S. Department of Defense{\textquoteright}s largest acquisition program in history, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is a multinational defense program with nine partner nations. As of January 2018, the program{\textquoteright}s 260+ flying aircraft have flown over 115,000 flight hours at 14 military installations around the globe. The aircraft{\textquoteright}s flight envelope is proven, munitions are cleared for carriage and the aircraft has reached operational capability. One decade prior, AA-1 was the sole flying F-35 struggling to achieve test points because of immature hardware and software. AA-1 and subsequent developmental test aircraft flights were managed by a control room, staffed by a team of flight test engineers. The evolution from requiring 40 control room engineers for a flight to today{\textquoteright}s state provides countless lessons learned. This paper encapsulates the flight test period of the F-35A from 2009-2012 and provides practical control room lessons learned from the mistakes and successes made during developmental testing. It is shown that the flight test engineers made advances in control room procedures to accommodate the complexities of the F-35A systems and were thus able to meet the demands of the test program schedule.",

author = "Jeffrey Newcamp",

note = "Major Jeffrey Newcamp is a flight test engineer in the United States Air Force and a PhD candidate at the Delft University of Technology, in Delft, Netherlands. His research foci include aging aircraft, aircraft operations and aircraft safety. Prior to his current work, Major Newcamp was an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Systems Engineering at the United States Air Force Academy. Major Newcamp spent three years as a flight test engineer, test conductor and test director for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He led many ground and flight tests for the program, including these firsts: jet blast deflector testing, aerial refueling qualification, night flight, simulated weapons release and electronic countermeasures. Major Newcamp holds three masters degrees, is a FAA certified private pilot, is an advanced ground instructor and has flight time in 27 military and civilian aircraft types.; 29th Society of Flight Test Engineers European Chapter symposium : The Fewer Aircraft To Flight Test, The More Reason To Share Experience, SFTE EC Symposium 2018 ; Conference date: 29-05-2018 Through 31-05-2018",

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AB - The U.S. Department of Defense’s largest acquisition program in history, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is a multinational defense program with nine partner nations. As of January 2018, the program’s 260+ flying aircraft have flown over 115,000 flight hours at 14 military installations around the globe. The aircraft’s flight envelope is proven, munitions are cleared for carriage and the aircraft has reached operational capability. One decade prior, AA-1 was the sole flying F-35 struggling to achieve test points because of immature hardware and software. AA-1 and subsequent developmental test aircraft flights were managed by a control room, staffed by a team of flight test engineers. The evolution from requiring 40 control room engineers for a flight to today’s state provides countless lessons learned. This paper encapsulates the flight test period of the F-35A from 2009-2012 and provides practical control room lessons learned from the mistakes and successes made during developmental testing. It is shown that the flight test engineers made advances in control room procedures to accommodate the complexities of the F-35A systems and were thus able to meet the demands of the test program schedule.

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ER -

Control Room Lessons Learned: A Perspective From F-35A Testing

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Bibliographical note

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