134 - U.S. Air Force Flight Test Engineers

[@johnb7490]

Ken did a great job interviewing the guest.

[@JaxonWillis]

That phone call question was very helpful! Thank you for finding all those answers!

[@D5Pasadena]

Definitely the right man for the job. Ken really got the most out of the guest (I was fascinated with those close call episodes they both recounted) and Ken had some really interesting stories of his own! Well done! Very informative!

[@kennethkatz8278]

Thanks!

[@rotad9967]

I believe the unsung heroes of flight testing are the engineers that are not Test Pilot School graduates who have to learn the business by the seat of their pants and then go on to doing the lion's share of the actual flight test planning, test conduct, data analysis and report writing. I was at Edwards in the mid to late 80s and then went on to do Operational Testing and further development testing for the next 22 years and it was actually unusual to have a TPS grad FTE on the test team. I never understood why the USAF did not have a school to teach basic aeronautics, navigation, weapons, sensors, instrumentation, test planning, data analysis and test reporting to new FTEs. I was very glad to see the emergence of the civilian National Test Pilot School and maybe things have changed since those days but there are a lot of folks out there that deserve recognition for some very hard work.

[@terryboyer1342]

The near miss stories reminds me of way back when I was a new sky diver at a DZ in the thumb of Michigan. I was under canopy about 1800 ft when I noticed two faint smoke trails headed my way. They caught up quickly and it was 2 A-7s from Selfridge ANG base. They passed below me and slightly to the side. Back on the ground my instructor said the DZ was right on a low level route for them and the jump pilot usually was in communication with the base and it ocassionally happened. I don't know if the A-7s saw me but I sure saw them!

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Yikes!

[@kennethkatz8278]

That's a bit more excitement than I prefer.

[@shaunroberts9361]

This was good for sure.

[@ryanrahebi9490]

Jello…I think you and Mover (C.W lemoine) should interview…you both are my favorite fighter pilots…HUGS

[@Mark_Ocain]

Great episode yet again !

[@kennethkatz8278]

Thanks!

[@thunderace4588]

Thank you for providing this informative and entertaining episode.

[@John-fr9uh]

anything to help troops avoid blue on blue engagements is crucial. Nobody wants to commit fratricide! the phycological effects alone can make a soldier hesitate in a crucial engagement.

[@Anuj-2]

Very fascinating

[@badlego2952]

"...500kg, so 1102 pounds..." thats some quick math

[@asabar1053]

I'd love to see you guys do a podcast on Aerospace Engineering Duty Officers in the navy. You've had a few on who were AEDO's and they've mentioned a little bit about it but it would be awesome to educate your viewers about the job and how they contribute to Naval Aviation.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Good idea

[@deantait8326]

My comment is don’t underestimate the KZbin bunch!

[@ja37d-34]

I wonderif she is a relative to me.. I have some US relatives with that surname (same as mine plus the two dots above the o). Funny.. :)

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

She is on Twitter; connect and find out.

[@ja37d-34]

@@FighterPilotPodcast I will. :) Thanks. My sister is doing a lot of genealogy right now. And she is checking the US tree of our family. Most ended up, initially in the Chicago and Minnesota area but you never knwo. Anyways, it was nice too see a Swedish name on here (it is, means "Birch-man" it´s an old soldier name, given to conscripts. That´s a whole another topic..) Thanks for your answer too. :)

[@michaelmulligan0]

Ukraine is giving the world a lesson in infoops / psy ops