Grow Where You’re Planted

GROW WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED

Jessica “Sting” Peterson

By Matt Ferrari

Growing up in the Antelope Valley located at the western tip of the Mojave Desert in Southern California, she helped out around her parent’s auto repair business. If not out of interest, but maybe also necessity, from her dad she learned about all things mechanical. From brake jobs to body work, oil changes to chasing electrical gremlins in cars, she maneuvered her way about the day-to-day activities of the shop. The time she spent working on cars gave her experience and confidence working with her mind and hands. In what is thought of as a traditionally male dominated work area, I’d guess that exposure to the inevitable auto shop antics and the sometimes less than savory language utilized in the banter between the tow truck drivers and mechanics, may have also helped her make her way through her chosen career path.

Speaking with her, I wonder if she chose her path or did her path choose her?

Jessica “Sting” Peterson is an Instructor Flight Test Engineer at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the 412th Operations Group Technical Director at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), California. She was born in Lancaster, California, about 20 miles west – southwest of Edwards. In school, she was interested in and did quite well in her math and science classes. That, coupled with the mechanical skills that she acquired working with her father, makes the career field went into seem like a natural fit.

Considering what to do after high school, Jess thought about different avenues to develop her interests. She decided to pursue studies in engineering. Her father, trained as a mechanical engineer, advocated for a degree in mechanical engineering. She, however, and quite possibly with a hint of youthful rebellion, decided on electrical engineering. After her first year of college, comparing her coursework to that of her peers on the mechanical engineering track, she decided to change her major to mechanical engineering. Maybe dad was right? Jess earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and went on to earn her Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. She earned an additional Master’s degree in Flight Test Engineering from the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, where she graduated in 2018 with Class 17B as one of only two civilian engineers in her class.

Her first assignment in aviation testing came in the form of an internship that she had with the USAF. During the summer and fall between her junior and senior years of college, Jessica worked on an instrument engineering project with the US Air Force, the task was the design and manufacture of the systems used to measure data and collect video during a test. Her main project was designing a bracket to hold a small video camera for collecting video of a refueling boom on a tanker aircraft.

She has worked on many interesting projects while at Edwards conducting flight tests on fighters, bombers, and unmanned aircraft. When I asked for a “standout” project that she was a part of she quickly answered, “Auto GCAS!” The Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (GCAS) prevents an aircraft from hitting the ground by taking control from the pilot, who may be disoriented or possibly unconscious due to experiencing excessive “G” forces. The system automatically executes a maneuver to avoid ground contact. She was able to meet an F-16 pilot who was saved by the system she helped develop. He lost consciousness while in an 8g turn losing control of his jet. The Auto GCAS recovered the aircraft while he was still unconscious, saving his life! The Auto GCAS is a subject that deserves a story itself and I encourage you to do some research on it. It is an amazing system! Later in our conversation after listening with great interest and learning about several other test projects she participated in, I asked what she’s most proud of in her work, she answered “The students I’ve instructed.” That says a lot about her character.

How does someone so accomplished get to the position in life that Jessica “Sting” Peterson is in? She answered, “Grow where you are planted! Do the best you can exactly where you are in life, at that moment, do the best job you can on what you are working on, challenge yourself, and keep learning.”

When asked how she keeps it all together, physically, and mentally, she answered, “Run, bike, eat well. Be mentally fit so you can think clearly, make critical decisions in a timely manner, and focus.” When she says it, it seems so easy, such a natural thing to do.

After a pause for consideration, I asked, “How do you do that, what do you mean?” Again, an answer clear as crystal, “You get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

I asked for examples of things she does. “Mountain climbing, rock climbing, I put myself in uncomfortable situations.”

Questioning the riskiness, another equally intelligent answer, “Know the risk you’re taking. Identify the risk and manage the risk.”

Having to direct the conversation back toward my comfort zone, I went for some low hanging fruit. I asked her if she had a favorite airplane to fly in. Her answer, “The next one!”