Right top to
bottom:
The VISTA
F-16D enables
students to fl y
an aircraft with
reconfi gurable
fl ight controls.
Frank Visser
This former
Romanian Air
Force MiG-15UTI is
one of the aircraft
loaned to the
school for certain
sections of the
course.
Frank Visser
Types such as the
HU-16C Albatross
allow students
to fl y without
the modern
fl ight control
aids for a truer
stick-and-rudder
experience.
Frank Visser
The school’s
Learjet 25D has
been adapted
to act as a a
surrogate RPAS.
Frank Visserthe ground system. The following class
actually modi ed the Learjet, and the third
class was responsible for the rst ight
testing,’ he explains. Today, the aircraft is
used to determine datalink performance,
autopilot response to ground control
station inputs, and to observe and
evaluate pilot-vehicle interfaces. Its
success has led to plans to modify the
NF-16D VISTA as a second surrogate RPAS.TPS future
Despite the demand for new test pilots,
the school acknowledges that di cult
times lay ahead, particularly when it
comes to budgets. Although the USAF is
pushing to shorten the course, in-house
there is a desire to extend it to 18 months.
Another challenge is retaining personnel
with the necessary skill sets. However,
there is no shortage of people wanting
to come here. The TPS remains in high
demand, and Webb says of the students,
‘They are standing on the shoulders of
giants like Jimmy Doolittle, Charles E.
Yeager and Joe H. Engle.’
The future of military and commercial
aerospace relies on the expertise nurtured
in the classrooms of the TPS and in the
skies above Edwards. While the seat-of-
the-pants ying hasn’t completely gone
away, advanced computer modeling and
digital applications have changed the
landscape of ight-test. Agencies such as
TPS have to evolve with this and adapt
to new demands, remaining relevant
and focused on the future that lays in
their hands.http://www.combataircraft.net // March 2018 93
88-93 USAF TPS C.indd 93 19/01/2018 11:06