society of flight test engineers

We asked Gordon these 5 questions.

Q:  Why/how did you become an FTE?

A:  I was recruited by the FAA’s Flight Test Branch Manager at the Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office. At the time I was active in the local chapter of the American Helicopter Society (now the Vertical Flight Society) as was the Manager. The Manager’s only helicopter FTE was about to retire, and he needed a replacement. Since the Manager knew I had a helicopter engineering background, especially in the flight performance area, and was a rated pilot, he asked me to join the FAA as an FTE in his Branch.

Q:  What did you like most about being an FTE?

A:  The variety of projects to which I was assigned. There were new aircraft certification projects such as the Robinson R-44 and R-66 helicopters, derivative projects such as the Boeing 717 (an upgraded version of the DC-9-30), and modification projects that included avionics upgrades, engine equipment changes. The most interesting projects were a wide variety of aircraft modifications that came through Flight Standard District Offices (FSDO) as Form 337 Field Approvals. Typically, these modifications from aircraft owners or small “mom & pop” shops usually required just a flight manual supplement review, but occasionally required flight testing.

Q:  What did you like least about being an FTE?

A3:  The reporting requirements. After project flight testing was completed, a Type Inspection Report had to be prepared by the FTE. The report included the results of every flight test and whether the test complied with the regulatory requirements. For new aircraft certification projects or large modification projects, report writing became a big task.

Q:  What is your most memorable FTE test/event?

A:  The time when a flight test almost crashed. This flight test occurred during MD-90 noise testing at Moses Lake, Washington during a test point to determine airframe noise.  To accomplish that test point, the airplane was configured in the cruise configuration, that is gear and flaps up and engines at idle. The landing noise flight profile was used which was a descent such that the airplane passed over the microphone at 400 feet AGL. This test produced a descent rate of over 3,000 fpm, which violated the “one minute to die” rule of thumb.

After passing over the microphone, the pilots pushed the thrust levers to full power. All of us on the flight deck knew that the engines were certified to reach full power from idle in 8 seconds. But, eight seconds after full power was commanded, nothing. The engines were just beginning to spool up. For me at that moment, time seemed to expand into slow motion since we were still descending at a high rate of descent with no power. I remember the pilots looking at each other and confirming that the thrust levers were full forward while the McDonnel Douglas FTE was shouting “crash over there on the grass… it’s softer.”  At 11 seconds, the engines reached full power, the descent was arrested and we went on to end the flight with a normal landing.

Since the MD-90 was the first model in the DC-9 series to use FADEC engines, no one thought to review FADEC system characteristics for each airplane configuration during the pre-flight briefing. Only during the post flight debrief did we learn that with the airplane in a clean configuration, the FADEC reduced the engine’s idle speed such that it would take 11 seconds to reach full power. I wish we had known that during the flight.

Q:  What advice would you give new FTEs?

A:  My suggestion is to obtain a pilot certificate and gain as much flying experience as practicable prior to applying for an FTE position. When I joined the FAA, I had a commercial certificate with instrument and multi-engine ratings which enhanced my appreciation of the certification flight testing I did.

Thank you Gordon, for taking the time to chat with us and for your liftetime contributions to the flight test community.