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Show HILL TOP TIMES Friday, May 2, 1986 Testf 'p!0Js Cueire Jay Joersz By Amn. Ogden ALC Public Affairs Office Ever since the beginning of manned flight, brave souls have been crawling into cockpits and risking their lives. New ideas in aviation are being developed almost daily and new aircraft need to be tested. It takes a special pilot to fly a newly designed or modified plane test pilots. The job of a test pilot is to push an aircraft to its limit to find out how it will function under all conditions. The reason for this is to ensure that the aircraft beplanes coming out of Hill are first-rat- e fore being delivered to other bases. irDtflfoDirDgj The flight test pilots at Hill were rated very high after a recent inspection. They have won two Air Force Logistics Command and two Air Force flight safety awards. "It's a team effort," said Colonel Morrow, "between the pilots, the maintenance crews and our supervisors. "Test pilots are screened before they can be accepted," he explained. "They must be highly experienced pilots." They are well trained and knowledgeable, according to Colonel Morrow. "People from other bases and companies such as General Dynamics come to Hill and ask our pilots how things should be done," he said. F-1- F-4- f jpeirfeetf short1 Pilots don't fly random patterns, their courses are plotted carefully and they are given distinct instructions on what needs to be tested. Pilots not familiar with certain maneuvers required in upcoming flights will be trained well in advance. "We don't ask the pilots to do something until they're trained for it," said Lt. Col. Ardie Morrow, chief of flight test at Hill AFB. As well as performing all functional test flights for all F-- 4 and 6 aircraft following programmed depot maintenance here, flight test pilots also fly four s and one 6 which are used for testing purposes. They fly an average of 20 sorties per month. f O F-1- "I wouldn't get in one of those planes if wasn't confident of the maintenance done on the aircraft." I One of the missions flown is for hardware or software modifications to aircraft, such as new gauges or modified fuel tanks. Pilots hit all aspects of the aircraft's system during a test run to see if any modifications have disrupted the plane in any way. "We put the equipment in our planes first and see if it works, before the change can go to other planes," explained Colonel Morrow. Before a plane can fly a mission, the Aircraft Maintenance Division runs extensive checks on the aircraft. "All we really do is verify their work," the colonel said. Some changes and modifications can be accomplished by field maintenance crews, but other changes are more extensive and need a team of experts. The depot maintenance team here is just that, explained Colonel Morrow. "The aircraft that we fly are safe because the personnel in aircraft maintenance know their job and do it well. "I wouldn't get in one of those planes if I wasn't confident of the maintenance done on the aircraft," he said. 4 (U S. Air Maj. D. Bell, of a flight-te- pilot for Flight Test, Directorate of Maintenance, conducts a F-- 16 F-1- st Force Photo by Amn. Jay Joersz) inspection pre-flig- ht 6. COME TO TOE STRIPES! SHAPE UP & SAVE! 20 OFF m 1(2) wm. m . . . INTEREST 13. . - i l ft .. a selected shoes and apparel for men, women and kids I Development . . Lots of top brands and styles to choose from - but not every style, LOAN SO-YEA- R MODEL OPEN DAILY size and color available in all best selection! P.M. 2:00-8:0- 0 stores. Hurry for O 77 On Sale May I COME SEE US AND WE'LL SHOW WHY Office: 2802 West 5600 South Roy 776-328- 7 825-8- 1 South 2800 West Built-in- s Dishwasher Disposal 8 Insulation Bay Window R-3- fj.B.R. I J Economy Utilities ' r Don't forget Motner's Dax j KjjT 1986 Foot locker Roy EXTRAS INCLUDED IN PRICE: Garage 1050 Sq. Ft. 3 Bedrooms 2 Baths - 66 THE ROYALWOODS CONDOMINIUMS 5285 LC f:ymm'' NE OUILD MORE HOME FOR THE MONEY 1-- 11 : Pool Auto garage opener Garden Window Crown Moldings Decorator Chair Rail Deluxe Carpeting Customized Painting Garden Tub Glass Shower Door Gas HeaterAir Cond. flMCftlCfl'S fnk MOST COMPICT6 ATHICTIC FOOTtUflfl STOflC. Major credit cards accepted. ia!!B!!aCOUPONi This coupon good D W'I1 Pay Allowable Loan Closing Costs for 'nnnpppnc": 0FL7 Clcoularly Priced Merchandise Any At FOOTLOCKER in Layton Hills Mall, Newgate Mall or 0E3G, OFFERING: $317 P&l BUYDOWN $2,800 D0WN...WILL CONSIDER TRADES, HOMES, CARS, BOATS, ETC. fo4 ldkrHi 1 i Ogden City Mall. This offer good thru May 31. 1986 LI III |