C-17s invade Edwards sky

Published March 25, 2009
By Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes
95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Global Reach Combined Test Force concluded a colossal mission of performing a formation test with six C-17 Globemaster IIIs March 14 and 17.

As the newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift fleet, the C-17 is capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in deployed environments.

The aircraft is equipped with a formation flight system that enables the pilot to monitor and fly the aircraft in formation with other C-17s.

"The C-17 has a basic mission requirement to be able to fly large-scale formation, both in the clear and through the clouds," said Lt. Col. James Hanley, 418th Flight Test Squadron commander. "The purpose is to be able to deliver a sizeable Army force of both personnel and their equipment into a hostile environment very rapidly."

Initially, the formation flight system was tested at Edwards in the summer of 2008, afterward it was tested at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., in four-ship formation.

"While we were there, we discovered several system deficiencies that caused us not to recommend the system for the next phase of operational testing," Colonel Hanley said.

One of these deficiencies included electronic interference on the formation flight system's ability to "see" other aircraft.

"We didn't know the source," the colonel said. "Both the Systems Group, Program Office and Boeing engineers have been analyzing the test for the last six months. They needed some more data on what was causing these issues. They asked the Global Reach CTF to perform six-ship testing to gather data and hopefully, resolve these issues. The thought-process was the more aircraft there are in the formation, the more demand you are putting on the system and the more chances you will be able to see these deficiencies. "

Through the formation testing, the Global Reach CTF was trying to figure out the root cause of the system deficiencies.

"For a test of this scale, there is a lot of planning involved," said Colonel Hanley. "The specific formation geometries for the test and what airplane needs to be in what position require a very detailed plan in both how we are going to taxi and take off with six C-17s."

The test team performed a planning process, including forming a test and safety plan and programmatic scheduling for the aircraft.

"Imagine driving a big rig truck that is 10 miles long; you have to think about what you are going to do before you do it," said Maj. Mark Jones Jr., 418th FLTS experimental test pilot. "When we were performing the test, we had 10 miles long formation. It takes a lot of forethought and planning to figure out how we are going to fly and how we are going to move the airplanes around in different formation geometries."

During testing, the pilots used the formation flight system to communicate with each other using their Global Positioning System and Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems. The pilots monitored each aircraft system to ensure they were working correctly.

"The lead pilot was responsible for sending information electronically, through the system, to other C-17s so that the whole formation knows what's going on," Major Jones said. "Our mission was to collect data. Test engineers wanted to see when the system malfunctioned. They wanted to find out when other aircraft systems interfered with the operation of the formation flight system."

According to Major Jones, the system will provide a substantial increase in capability once it becomes operational.

"The formation flight system is head and shoulders above the C-17's legacy formation system, which is called Station Keeping Equipment," the major said. "If we get it up and running, it is going to streamline how we do formation and increase our capabilities. It will make flying in formation easier for the pilots, thereby increasing airdrops and supplies to warfighters."