On behalf of the CH-53K King Stallion Integrated Test Team, Lt. Col. John Ennis, government flight test director for the CH-53K, accepts the Department of the Navy (DON) Test Team Award from DON Deputy for Test and Evaluation Carroll P. “Rick” Quade during a May 24 ceremony at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. The team was recognized for overcoming several major technical obstacles during its first year of flight test. (U.S. Navy photo)
The Department of the Navy (DON) presented two of Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) four 2016 DON Test and Evaluation (T&E) Awards May 24 at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland.
For overcoming several major technical obstacles during its first year of flight test, the CH-53K King Stallion Integrated Test Team received the DON Test Team Award, while Lt. Cmdr. Eric Martin received the DON Aspiring Tester Award in the military category for leading development of a joint test plan for the P-8A Poseidon aerial refueling program. The program was recognized as the new “golden standard” across both Navy and U.S. Air Force leadership for how to certify aircraft receiving fuel midflight.
DON Deputy for T&E Carroll P. “Rick” Quade presented the awards.
Lt. Col. John Ennis, government flight test director for the King Stallion, the Marine Corps’ new heavy-lift helicopter platform, accepted the Test Team Award on behalf of the CH-53K test team—comprised of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21, the Integrated Systems Evaluation, Experimentation and Test department and Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.
“It’s a culmination of a lot of work, from the government civilians to the contractors to the military folks, overcoming a lot of challenging obstacles to make for a successful year,” Ennis said.
During its first year of testing, the team relocated one of the King Stallion’s inertial measuring units, which are necessary for navigation, to better stabilize the aircraft; fixed a design flaw which caused one of the three engines to flame out upon landing; and crafted a solution resolving engine bay overheating that allowed the test program to proceed as scheduled.
Lt. Cmdr. Eric Martin accepts the Department of the Navy (DON) Aspiring Tester Award from DON Deputy for Test and Evaluation Carroll P.
“We still have a long way to go, because we’re not even 20 percent of the way through the program, but the fact that we’ve overcome what we have in the last year tells me that the team is able to accept any challenge and rise to the occasion,” Ennis said.
Assigned as assistant project officer and assistant officer-in-charge for the testing of the P-8A as a boom aerial refueling receiver with the Air Force’s KC-135 Stratotanker, Martin was tasked with helping lead the Poseidon’s first government-led test project as well as its first aerial refueling flight test certification. Most significantly, the project was the Navy’s first attempt at a boom aerial refueling flight test certification since the E-6A Mercury completed flight test in 1988.
Recognizing the lack of recent knowledge and experience in boom aerial refueling flight testing within the DON T&E community, Martin coordinated with developmental, operational and fleet-readiness squadrons, Air Force certification authorities, DOD engineers and contractors, and led a team of NAVAIR flight test engineers and test pilots in developing the technical expertise and skills required for operational aerial refueling, as well as the flight test techniques and data collection requirements necessary to certify the P-8A to receive fuel from the KC-135.
Despite taking on a test program the likes of which the Navy last attempted nearly three decades ago, Martin’s leadership and preparation resulted in a joint test plan that, according to the chairman of the Air Force’s technical review board, will serve as the new cross-service “golden standard” of how to execute certification flight test for receiver aircraft.
“Lt. Cmdr. Martin’s contributions to the DON T&E community set a new gold standard for Navy/Air Force tanker certification flight test, and distinguished him as a rising leader in the DON flight test cadre,” Martin’s award citation stated.
NAVAIR won four of the nine DON T&E awards, nominations for which came from the six systems commands and all Navy and U.S. Marine Corps operational test agencies. Joseph Twesme and Alex Ordway, both with Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, will receive the DON Award for Technical Excellence at a T&E Facility or Range and DON Small Program Outstanding Tester Award (civilian category), respectively, during a June ceremony on the West Coast.
On behalf of the CH-53K King Stallion Integrated Test Team, Lt. Col. John Ennis, government flight test director for the CH-53K, accepts the Department of the Navy (DON) Test Team Award from DON Deputy for Test and Evaluation Carroll P. “Rick” Quade during a May 24 ceremony at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. The team was recognized for overcoming several major technical obstacles during its first year of flight test. (U.S. Navy photo)
Lt. Cmdr. Eric Martin accepts the Department of the Navy (DON) Aspiring Tester Award from DON Deputy for Test and Evaluation Carroll P.
