April 14, 2017
Public Affairs, Volume 64, Number 15
TPS students get new knowledge from historic aircraft
By Christopher Ball 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
Recently a group of students spent some time in the Air Force Flight Test Museum looking at a range of historic aircraft from the earliest days of flight test here up to present day. This was not a recreational visit. They were there for a flight sciences course, and the students were from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School right here at Edwards. The flight sciences course is a longstanding part of the TPS students’ curriculum, but this was the first time the course had ever been taught at the AFFT museum. “We have a course in aircraft stability,” said Dr. Chris Cotting, master instructor of flying qualities with the school. “The basic idea behind the class is I teach the students to look at different aircraft shapes, and also how the weight is distributed along the aircraft. From that they should be able to discern some basics about how the aircraft flies.” Cotting said he teaches a series of courses to enable students to be able to walk out to an airplane, see the airplane and create an impression in their mind of how the airplane should fly. “I tell them, ‘The last time you should be surprised about an airplane is when it’s strapped on your back,’” he said. “’Before you ever start to fly you should have an idea of how the airplane should fly so you’re not surprised, or if you are surprised it’s not so dramatic.’” Cotting said he chose to teach the course at the AFFT museum, because of the broad range of aircraft there. “So we can talk about (flight characteristics) in an academic
Dr. Chris Cotting, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School master instructor of flying qualities, teaches a class at the Air Force Flight Test Museum April 4. (U.S. Air Force photo by Stephen K. Robinson)
sense in the classroom. Then we can walk out and look at the airplanes and talk about how they flew and why,” he said. “The shape of the wing, the shape of the fuselage or the shape of the tail all had a given effect on the aircraft.” One student test pilot, Capt. Justin Lechner, said that being at the museum definitely gives a bit of perspective when you can look at different airplanes that are side-by-side and compare them. “A portion of the course, Doc Cotting walks us around and we talk about the design characteristics of the individual aircraft and what those design characteristics mean for the way the aircraft will fly,” he said. See TPS, page 3
Chief test pilot wins AIAA Chanute Flight Test Award
By Kenji Thuloweit 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
Bill Gray, the chief test pilot at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, has been awarded the Chanute Flight Test Award for a career full of accomplishments by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The AIAA presents the award to recognize “significant lifetime achievements in the advancement of the art, science, and technology of flight test engineering.” As the chief test pilot at TPS, he oversees flight curriculum development and provides instruction to students and instructors in both aircraft and in the classroom. He also mentors student test teams conducting their real-world test management projects to receive their master’s degrees. Additionally, he evaluates pilot candidates as part of the TPS selection process.
Bill Gray, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School chief test pilot, poses in front of the F-16 Variable In-flight Stability Test Aircraft, or VISTA. (U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbi Zapka)
“Personally, the award is enormously meaningful,’ Gray said. “I struggle with being on the same list as luminaries like Howard Hughes, Neil Armstrong and Bob Hoover. When I saw the leadership at TPS jumping through hoops to complete the nomination on time, I was honored by the effort, but I thought they
were wasting their time!” Gray’s accomplishments leading to the Chanute Flight Test Award began immediately after graduating from TPS as a test pilot in 1991. He qualified as a test pilot in the F-15 and T-38, and was the chief pilot for the flight evaluation of seven aircraft that led to the selection of the T-6 Texan II primary trainer. He was later selected as a developmental test pilot for the F-117 Nighthawk. After retiring from the Air Force, Gray joined the TPS staff as a civil servant and has been instrumental in producing both flight test professionals and flight test techniques. He developed the world’s first remotely piloted aircraft test pilot school curriculum, conceptualized and developed the first versions of the USAF TPS flying qualities simulator, and creSee Award, page 2