Classic Flight Testing at Edwards Air Force Base: A Career in Test and Evaluation: Reflections and Observations, Test Pilot Charles Adolph Oral History, F-111, Stall-Spin Testing, Culture, Combat

Professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, this unique USAF publication presents a fascinating oral history of Charles "Pete" Adolph, who retired as Director of Test and Evaluation in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology) on 31 January 1994. This completed more than 30 years of federal service—almost all of it within the challenging field of test and evaluation (T&E). Pete—as he was widely known throughout the Department of Defense testing community—enjoyed a remarkable career. It began in the late 1950s, as the heroic era of flight test in the first decade of the jet age was drawing to a close. Pete then played an increasingly prominent role in the transformation of flight testing into a systematic discipline using the latest in information technology to evaluate sophisticated weapon systems. His government career culminated as a senior director at the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). There, in the Pentagon, he brought his many years of engineering and management experience in the field to bear upon the formulation of policies for the acquisition and testing of weapon systems in the post-cold-war era. The text that follows began as a series of five oral history interviews conducted in the Office of the Air Force Historian between 29 July 1993 and 15 April 1994. Ms. Pauline Tubbs of the United States Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base (AFB), Alabama, expertly transcribed these interviews from approximately eight hours of audio tape. Mr. Lawrence R. Benson, the Air Force Historian's Assistant for Field Programs (and previously the Director of Research Services at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center), organized, revised, and edited the transcript— adding explanatory material in brackets or footnotes as appropriate. Mr. Adolph was accompanied at most of the interviews by Mr. Douglas Nation of the 46th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, who was on a special assignment to the OSD T&E Directorate. Dr. James O. Young, Historian of the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), and his staff at Edwards AFB, California, helped with details on flight test. Although Mr. Adolph's responsibilities within the OSD encompassed testing of all types of systems throughout the four armed services, our interview focuses most sharply on Air Force flight testing at Edwards. This is where Pete spent the majority of his career, and where I first met him in 1980 after becoming the AFFTC Historian.

Contents: Classic Flight Testing At Edwards * Concurrent Testing And Production: The Case Of The F-111 * The Quest For Improved Aircraft Performance: Departure And Stall/Spin Testing * User Requirements And Operational Testing * Combined Testing With Contractors * The Government's Role In Developing Technology * Evolving Challenges In Flight Testing * The Culture Of Flight Testing * Migration From Contractor To Government Test Facilities * Importance Of The Private Sector * Integration Of Test Ranges * Improving Test Systems And Instrumentation * Test And Evaluation Consolidation And The Reliance Program * Interagency Testing * Test Management Oversight * Electronic Combat Testing * Software Testing And Human Factors * Post-Cold-War Implications * Glossary