News

Test squadron ensures birds are safe, ready for return to roost

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78 ABW/PA
When an aircraft comes to Robins it is typically here for months and many people are involved in the restoration, but it can't return to action until it gets the seal of approval from the 339th Flight Test Squadron.

The squadron, made up of 48 people, runs test flights on the C-130 Hercules, the C-5 Galaxy and the F-15 Eagle. It doesn't test fly the C-17 Globemaster because Boeing has a contract for that job.

The squadron, which is a reserve unit, has a storied history that dates back to World War II, when it was called the 339th Fighter Squadron. It was credited with killing Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. A 339th pilot shot down a Japanese bomber in which Yamamoto was being transported.

At Robins since 1988 when it was part of the consolidated 2875th Test Squadron, the 339th FS was redesignated the 339th Flight Test Squadron in 1994.

Today, the C-130 section is the busiest part of the squadron. Maj. Jeremy Mickelson, a C-130 pilot, said a test flight crew is a little different from a normal C-130 crew. A mission crew has two pilots, an engineer, a loadmaster and a navigator. The test-flight crew is the same except it doesn't need a loadmaster, so that position is filled with an extra engineer.

That's because engineers are critically important to the test flight process. All through the flight the engineers are constantly checking systems to make sure everything is functioning properly.

They also spend up to three hours doing a pre-flight inspection to find any problems that can be detected before take off. That's on top of the functional test the maintenance crew does to check all systems following programmed depot maintenance.

Major Mickelson said a test flight is far from a leisurely cruise.

"It takes about two hours, but it feels like about 30 minutes because we are so busy," he said.

On a full functional test flight, they take the planes on the same path each time, first heading toward Milledgeville then toward Waycross and back. The F-15 and C-5 sections also fly different designated paths so that none overlap.

The paths are intended to keep the planes in close proximity to Robins in case of trouble, and also in proximity of local municipal airports in case a plane can't make it back to Robins. That has never happened to Major Mickelson, but every now and then a problem crops up that is serious enough that the crew has to return to base immediately and make an emergency landing.

After a test flight, the team comes back and briefs the maintenance crew on any problems found. Once those problems are corrected, the plane will go for another, shorter test flight, to check specific problems from the first flight. Typically a plane will go through multiple test flights before being cleared to return to duty. Major Mickelson said it's only a couple of times a year that a plane needs just one test flight.

Test flight crews are highly experienced, usually with thousands of flying hours. The engineers must have intricate knowledge of the plane and the ability to detect potential problems before the plane is in the air.

"We will touch a plane two or three times sometimes before we ever get a pilot out there," said Senior Master Sgt. Scott Stansfield, a flight engineer. "These airplanes are torn apart so much and put back together, there are a lot of different things that can go wrong. It's not an entry-level position by any stretch of the imagination."

The squadron also has life-support personnel who manage the helmets, parachutes, oxygen masks and other equipment critical to the crew. Major Mickleson said the oxygen masks are especially important because test flights are done at 17,000 feet. If the plane lost cabin pressure the crew would be in big trouble without a working oxygen system.

A critically important part of a flight test is the functional test done on the ground. Dean Huber, a C-130 functional test mechanic, said about a week is devoted to testing, including a full run up of the engines, before planes are turned over to the flight test squadron.

"We try to duplicate everything they do on the flight and try to give them the best aircraft possible," Mr. Huber said. "We know we are dealing with people's lives on a daily basis."

Lt. Col. John Nowak is commander of the squadron, a position he has held since March. A C-130 pilot himself, he said the squadron has a high standard for its flight crews.

"It takes a lot of experience," he said. "Our flight engineers have to have a minimum of 1,000 hours. Their knowledge has to be extensive to do what we do."

Major Mickelson said one of the things he likes best about the job is also one of the most challenging things about it. At his previous assignment, he flew only one of the more than 20 variants of the C-130. At Robins he flies every C-130 model except one, the C-130J. The flight controls can vary dramatically, which he says makes it an enormous challenge.

Imagine driving someone else's car and trying to figure out how to operate the headlights and windshield wipers. And sometimes, even though you know you are in a different car, old habits can lead to turning the wrong switches.

Major Mickelson said that's exactly the challenge the crew faces as it flies different variants each day, and it's also why a test flight requires full focus from beginning to end.