Public Affairs, Volume 63, Number 62
Serving the community of Edwards Air Force Base California www.edwards.af.mil - www.facebook.com/EdwardsAirForceBase
Oct. 7, 2016
The F-16 VISTA tracks a T-38’s during testing of the L1 Adaptive Control System recently. The control system was designed and built by a team from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, and tested by U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School Class 16A. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Capt. Craig Porter)
Test Pilot School students validate ‘smart’ aircraft control system
By Christopher Ball 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
Early aircraft controls were manual. They only responded to the pilot’s inputs. If a control surface got damaged, or a control system froze for some reason, the pilot was often unable to recover control of the aircraft. Frequently this resulted in loss of an aircraft and sometimes loss of life. Fast forward to the modern era, and most aircraft are flyby-wire. This means the pilot still controls the aircraft with physical input on traditional style controls, but now the aircraft’s computers interpret the pilot’s inputs. The computer knows what the aircraft is supposed to do when the pilot gives certain commands, and it moves the control surfaces to make
the aircraft behave accordingly. But still the problem of damaged surfaces or frozen systems poses a threat to pilots and aircraft. Test Pilot School Class `16a has taken the task of testing an adaptive control system designed by a team from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. The TPS team consists of staff advisor Dr. Chris Cotting and five students – test pilots Capt. Daniel Edelstein, Italian Air Force Capt. Raffaele Odesco, French Air Force Maj. Nicolas Langevin and flight test engineers Capt. Craig Porter and Capt. Clark McGehee. According to the test team, the L1 Adaptive Control SysSee TPS, page 3
Team Edwards civilian wins DOD’s 2016 Spirit of Hope Award
Timothy Bryant, 412th Operations Support Squadron, and Patricia Fisher, 412th OSS, Current Operations Flight chief, pose for a photo at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. after Bryant was presented with one of the 2016 Spirit of Hope Awards.
By Kenji Thuloweit 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
Timothy Bryant of the 412th Operations Support Squadron was one of five people honored by the Department of Defense as a recipient of the 2016 Spirit of Hope Award, which is given for exemplary service and support to the troops. Bryant was among five people from the U.S. Armed Forces and one organization recognized Sept. 28 at a ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work spoke at the ceremony and said the recipients of this year’s Spirit
of Hope Award are American heroes who have selflessly supported the troops around the world. They are true embodiments of the values of Bob Hope, the legendary entertainer for whom the award is named, he said. Bryant was the Air Force’s nominee for providing “unparalleled service to countless U.S. military veterans and the local community,” according to the award announcement. “As the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3000 commander, Bryant superbly led the organization in more than $92,000 of fundraising programs supporting outreach assistance for over 12,500 veterans in Southern California. His effort directly saved 32 indigent veterans and their families from homelessness.” “It was a complete surprise to me,” Bryant said. “I had no idea that I was nominated for this prestigious award until our unit, the 412th OSS, was notified by Headquarters, Air Force Materiel Command that I was the AFMC-level winner. Then when I was told that I was the Air Force winner of the DOD Spirit of Hope Award I was just amazed.” Bryant said he never looked at winning an award for what he does. “I felt as though something was calling me to make a difference and help those in need. However, there are so many folks who helped make this award possible, and I would like to thank my wife, Sherree, and daughters, Anais and Regis, who supported and understood what I was doing and the hours involved.” See Hope, page 2
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Women can prolong their lives by taking steps toward better health By J.D. Levitte Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs
Everyone - children and adults and men and women - should take charge of their own health to ensure they’re able to live a long and healthy life. One of the most important things women can do to maintain good health is schedule an annual Well Woman visit with their healthcare provider. Well Woman exams help assess individual risks for women and can provide services for immunizations, contraceptives, screening for disease and counselling for sexually transmitted infections. “This is probably the most important thing women can do for their health,” said Maj. Joshua Duncan, the chief resident for General Preventive Medicine Residency with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. “An annual Well Woman visit is an opportunity to detect and prevent disease.” He said it’s also used as one of the ways to screen for domestic violence. “Unfortunately, abusive relationships often go unrecognized. This is also an opportunity for us to help people who may be in domestically violent relationships.” When it comes to immunizations, Duncan said the vaccine for the Human Papillomavirus is a huge success for women. It’s a form of primary prevention, which means the vaccine prevents the disease from ever happening in the first place. HPV is “the virus that causes genital warts and cervical cancer,” Duncan said. “We don’t get many cures for cancer, and this is a way to prevent one type of cancer, which I think is pretty awesome.”
(U.S. Air Force graphic)
To achieve the best results, the vaccine usually starts at a young age, and women entering their child-bearing years should start getting Papanicolaou tests, or Pap smears. This test checks for changes caused by HPV, and it’s something women in their 20s should get every three years. “A lot of women are reluctant to come in because of Pap smears. It’s probably not the most comfortable experience for many patients” Duncan said, “but for women age 30 and over we’re now spacing it to every five years as long as they’re getting the blood test (that looks for HPV), too.” Another thing women in this age group should consider is folic acid supplementation. Folic acid can help prevent birth defects in case of pregnancy, and Duncan said most women’s multivitamins include it. (Read more by visiting www.airforcemedicine.af.mil)
Drop and give me 22!
More than 200 Team Edwards members go face-down in the grass to complete the 22 push-up challenge here Sept. 30. According to a 2012 Veterans Affairs Department Suicide Date Report, an average of 22 veterans are lost to suicide every day.
The 22 push-up challenge is a commitment to do 22 push-ups for 22 days to raise awareness not only about veteran suicide, but also about the mental health issues that can potentially lead to suicide. (U.S. Air Force photo by Christopher Ball)
From Hope, page 1 1 He also thanked 412th OSS commander, Lt. Col. Mark Massaro; Frank Arnold, his supervisor; and friends Rykki Swenson and Larry Pratt, who also supported and understood the passion Bryant had in supporting veterans, their families and community. “Finally, is want to thank all veterans, past and present who provide me the inspiration and strength in helping those who need a hand.” Bryant said he and his brother and sister were taught by his parents the importance of giving back to the community and
helping people in need. That continued through his college years and during his time in the Air Force. The award’s namesake, celebrity comedian and actor Bob Hope, brought his variety show to military camps and war zones across the globe to entertain troops for almost 50 years. Hope flew millions of miles, headlining 57 separate USO tours from World War II, the Korea and Vietnam wars, Operation Desert Storm and to installations around the world, most often during the Christmas season, Work said.
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Activities highlight fire prevention By Timothy Johnson Edwards Fire Prevention Office, assistant chief
Team Edwards will observe Fire Prevention Week 2016 Sunday through October 15 with the theme “Don’t Wait – Check the Date.” The emphasis is on replacing batteries yearly in all smoke alarms and replacing the alarms themselves every 10 years. During Fire Prevention Week the Edwards AFB Fire Department will provide educational material and information on the leading causes of home fires, information about protecting home and family with life-saving technologies and the importance of home escape planning. Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. On the 40th anniversary of that fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America sponsored the first National Fire Prevention Day, observing the anniversary to keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention. When President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week Octtober 4 throught 10, 1925, he noted in the previous year some 15,000 lives were lost to fire in the United States. Calling the loss startling, Coolidge’s proclamation stated, “This waste results from the conditions which justify a sense of shame and horror; for the greater part of it could and ought to be prevented...It is highly desirable that every effort be made to reform the conditions which have made possible so vast a destruction of the national wealth”. The Edwards Fire Dept. will hold the following events throughout the week:
‘Smart’ controls aim to save lives From TPS, page 1
tem learns the standard flight parameters of the aircraft it’s installed on, and if anything changes, such as damage or mechanical failure of a flight control, the system can adapt the other flight controls to compensate. ‘L1 adaptive is a somewhat novel idea in that it doesn’t have to know what the airplane is like that you’re putting it on,” Cotting said. “You give it some basic information about the airplane and the adaptive controller should be able to configure itself to make the aircraft fly.” The Adaptive Control System is a further evolution of the fly-by-wire systems that are becoming commonplace in modern aircraft. “Using the infrastructure that you have in a fly-by-wire aircraft, and using the fact that you have a computer that can move the control surfaces at its own discretion, you can leverage the computer to do creative things with the control surfaces that you couldn’t do in a conventional aircraft,” McGehee said. Cotting said there were advantages to flight testing with this system. “If I was going to put this on a production airplane, I wouldn’t have to do as many wind tunnel tests,” he said. “Or, if I know the wind tunnel doesn’t give accurate results, then I can use the adaptive controller to take out some of the uncertainly.” Edelstein explained another advantage from a pilot’s perspective.
Brig. Gen. Carl Schaefer, 412th Test Wing commander, signs the Fire Prevention Week 2016 Proclamation in his office Sept. 16 with members of the Edwards Fire Department and Sparky the Fire Dog. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ethan Wagner)
Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. ; Branch Elementary School Visit with fire safety trailer, Sparky the Fire Dog and goodies. Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Open house at Fire Station 2 in the housing area and at Fire Station 4 at Air Force Research Laboratory. Thursday, 10 a.m.to 2 p.m.; Fire Safety Display with Sparky at the Exchange. October 14, 8 to 10 a.m.; Poster contest awards presentation at schools. October 14, 10 a.m. to noon; Edwards Fire Dept. and Sparky visit the Child Development Center/Family Daycare. For more information, call 277-3124.
“If I am an F-16 pilot, I expect with a certain amount of force on the stick I am going to get a certain amount of aircraft response. This adaptive controller can say, ‘I know what an F-16 is supposed to fly like,’ so if some [anti-aircraft fire] hits my right aileron, this controller can adapt. It knows I don’t have this surface anymore, so it uses all the other surfaces on the aircraft to make that response exactly what the pilot would have expected all along, just like there’s no damage to the aircraft. But if you have a damaged aircraft, you don’t necessarily want a perfect aircraft, you want something that can get you home safely and land.” Porter added to this thought, saying “the point is, this is not supposed to replace flight control systems in an aircraft. What it’s supposed to be for is more as a backup in an emergency, ‘Get me home so I can land safely.’” Langevin cited an example of how this controller could have saved lives. In 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed after losing a large portion of the tail and losing hydraulic controls to the entire plane. “The pilots were not able to recover,” Langevin said. “Maybe, in that case, such a controller would have allowed the pilots to land safely.” Fifteen crew members and 505 of the 509 passengers died as a result. (This article is part one of a series about the L1 Adaptive Control System.)
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This Week in Edwards Flight Test History On Oct. 3, 1967 Maj. William J. “Pete” Knight flew the modified X-15A-2 to a speed of Mach 6.7 (4,520 mph). The aircraft was flown with its full ablative coating and external fuel tanks. A dummy ramjet mounted on the lower ventral stub stabilizer fell away during the flight as a result of severe heat damage to the fairing. The flight marked the highest speed achieved in the X-15 program and remains the highest speed ever reached by a manned airplane. (Edwards History Office file photo)
(Courtesy photo by Chad Bellay/Lockheed Martin)
Photo finish
Tom Reynolds, Lockheed Martin aerial photographer, leaves the cockpit for the last time as he completes his final ejection seat flight Sept. 29 after 28 years of immortalizing pilots and aircraft through photos and video. He has been an aerial photographer since 1988 where he supported the continued development of the F-16 Fighting Falcon at the F-16 Combined Test Force. From there his career grew into documenting other airframes – the F-22 Raptor and now the F-35 Lighting II. Reynolds has 1,800 flight hours in the F-16 and a “couple of hundred” more in the F-15 Eagle. The majority have been as photo chase for testing at Edwards. Before working for Lockheed Martin, he worked for General Dynamics – then the manufacturer of the F-16 – in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. He came to Edwards as part of a team tasked to perform initial flight tests of two new delta-winged versions of the F-16 called the F-16XL. Reynolds will continue to work for Lockheed Martin on the ground.
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Commander, 412th TW ................ Brig. Gen. Carl Schaefer Installation Support Director ..................... Dr. David Smith Command Chief .............. Chief Master Sgt. Todd Simmons Director, 412th TW, Public Affairs ................... Ed Buclatin Editors ........................... Kenji Thuloweit, Christopher Ball Contributor ................................................. Dawn Waldman To submit articles or upcoming events send an email to newsroom@edwards.af.mil
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