Public Affairs, Volume 63, Number 57
Serving the community of Edwards Air Force Base California www.edwards.af.mil - www.facebook.com/EdwardsAirForceBase
Sept. 2, 2016
Instructor, student pilot saved by Auto GCAS visit 416th
By Kenji Thuloweit 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
Test pilots and engineers from the 416th Flight Test Squadron had the chance to meet face-to-face with one of the squadron’s success stories Aug. 25. The group met with an allied nation pilot trainee who returned home alive after he experienced a g-force-induced loss of consciousness and his F-16’s Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System activated, executing a ground-avoidance maneuver, just as the system was designed to do. The 416th tested and proved the F-16’s Auto GCAS. The pilot, whose call sign is Ocho, and his instructor pilot came to Edwards at NASA’s request. Both pilots are assigned to Arizona Air National Guard’s 152nd Fighter Squadron in Tucson, Arizona. The squadron has an international F-16 training program. The meeting took place in the C-Dot Auditorium, which was named for Maj. Aaron “C-Dot” George who was a 416th FLTS pilot lost to CFIT – controlled flight into terrain – with photographer Judson Brohmer in 2001. “They could have been saved by an A-GCAS fly-up, but the jet they were flying didn’t have the system,” said Lt. Col. Chris Keithley, 416th FLTS commander. “Fast forward almost 15 years, and [an allied nation pilot] got a fly-up during air-to-air training in Arizona. He’s not alone. To date, this technology
From left: Lt. Col. Chris Keithley, 416th Flight Test Squadron commander, thanks F-16 pilot trainee Ocho and Maj. Luke O’Sullivan, 152nd Fighter Squadron, Arizona Air National Guard, for visiting the 416th FLTS Aug. 25. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kenji Thuloweit)
has saved four pilots’ lives in training and combat. This means their families didn’t lose a husband, father, son or brother. It also means they’re able to serve their country another day. It’s a huge win and I can’t overstate how meaningful it is.” The pilots were flying in two separate F-16s in the skies See Auto GCAS, page 3
Edwards civilian helps protect neighbors against fire By Christopher Ball 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
Even while fires are raging all over California, and the smoke from some impacts Edwards Air Force Base, it may seem that the base is insulated from extreme fire danger due to the surrounding desert. For one employee here, that was certainly not the case. Len Paris, a heavy equipment operator with the 412th Civil Engineer Group, lives in Phelan, California, where his home and family were recently threatened by the Blue Cut fire. He was at work when he first got word of the fire. “By the following day it looked like we were going to be just fine, but all of a sudden it took off again,” he said. “The winds changed, and that thing just started going at it once again.” But rather than leave his home to the fate of the wind and fire, Paris opted to stay and help protect his and his neighbors’ homes. See Fire, page 2
The recent Blue Cut fire consumes a train bridge near Phelan, California. The fire lasted more than a week, and burned more than 30,000 acres. More than 80,000 people were forced to evacuate from their homes. (Photo by Len Paris)