The (Occasionally) Exciting Life of a Test Pilot
The Life of a Test Pilot—Exciting! Right?
What do Chuck Yeager and Cap’n Aux have in common? They’ve both done stints as a test pilot!
OK, so maybe ol’ General Chuck was the greatest test pilot of all time, the first to break the sound barrier in Glamorous Glennis, wrote an amazing autobiography, piloted the Challenger Commission, and, and, and—
And I’m just a lowly line pilot for a US air carrier. But, in recent years, I’ve actually volunteered to do a little test piloty stuff on the side!
Alright, I admit, I didn’t exactly break any barriers, fly any loop de loops, or penetrate the atmo or anything. In fact, I never even left terra firma.
I did it all in…simulators!
While legal agreements preclude me from disclosing proprietary specifics about my assignments, I thought it would be fun to talk about the adventure of it all. Because, even though my time was “simulated,” anyone who’s flown a full-motion sim will tell you, they’re nearly as realistic as the real thing!
Airline pilots refer to them as the “Sweat Box,” and for good reason: fly a typical 2-day, 4-hour per day “Recurrent Training” session of engine fires and failures in the simulator, and you can be guaranteed to lose at least 5 pounds!
Globe Trotting Test Pilot
A couple years ago, I volunteered for a gig to test some new EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) gear for a worldwide company that supplies such items to airlines and pilots.
Guten Tag, from Berlin-Tegel Flughafen!
They flew me to Berlin for a couple of days, and I got to try out their new stuff while “piloting” a “static” Airbus simulator—that is, one that was not a full-motion simulator, but rather was, well, basically bolted to terra firma! Still, the sim was fully functional, in order to do our testing.
The testing took place at a university in Berlin, and was run by students and professors, who conducted the study for the company. My “copilot” for the day was a great guy who was an FO (First Officer) for a European airline. Sehr gut!
We wore special glasses that tracked the movement of our eyes, as the team “beamed” us around to different airports around the world. They would task us to perform different maneuvers, and then afterward would have us fill out a survey about how the new, interactive EFB software helped us, and what they could do better.
Test Pilot of New Toys
I am very happy to say that I was blown away by the new software, and how handy it was to use. The maps were also very interactive, as opposed to using an old paper or PDF map with which to navigate.
What’s more, I’m excited to see that, two years later, those very same features are being integrated into our own airline’s EFB software!
I must say, I feel a tinge of pride, knowing that I was one of those test pilots who helped to develop it!
Bonus Feature: While in town, I got to take a whirlwind tour of Berlin!
Test Pilots Testing Testers Testing Pilots
Another recent gig involved putting a new, full-motion Airbus simulator through the paces to make sure it had the “sound and feel” of the real deal. Most of the testing personnel was used to Boeing products—and one was even an old Navy carrier pilot! But, they needed me to give them feedback on how realistic the Airbus experience was, then tweak the features as needed. What’s more, they had to try all the features, such as system failures, engine fires, windshears, turbulence, etc., to make sure it all worked, and for them to learn how to use the simulator as well.
For this gig, I jumpseated into town on an RJ…
My experience was similar to my annual Recurrent test in the “Sweat Box”—but with two days of 8 hour sim sessions each, instead of 4! The good news was, there was no real pressure, as they were testing the “box,” not testing me!
Even so, I had my hands full, trying crazy things that we’d never do on our Recurrent checkride, even with the most sadistic of Sim Instructors.
Have you ever done a landing from a Glideslope-out Localizer approach, to a Circle-to-Land, in a minimum visibility dust storm, 38-knot gusty crosswind and moderate turbulence, while experiencing a Flap malfunction? Well, now I can say that I have!
To give you a feel of what it’s like to fly in the Sim, here’s a short video of Blog Buddy Dante L, landing an A350 in a 30kt crosswind in Nagoya!
For more videos of Dante’s adventures, check out his YouTube channel:
Test Pilot Adventures
OK, so maybe I’m not exactly “the next Chuck Yeager,” but I’ve had a lot of fun doing a lot of off-the-wall “flying,” met some great people, took some great trips, and even learned some more tips n tricks for my own Airbus work.
In short, in keeping with the Cap’n Aux mantra, I made me some mighty fine memories. And that is the essence of…
Adventures of Cap’n Aux!
Until the next adventure,
This is Cap'n Aux
Test Piloting Off!
Related Cap’n Aux Links
- Airline Recurrent Training https://capnaux.com/airline-recurrent-training/
- Confessions of a Former Airline Pilot https://capnaux.com/confessions-of-a-former-airline-pilot/
- Making of a European Pilot https://capnaux.com/the-making-of-a-european-airline-pilot/
- True Confessions of a Regional Pilot https://capnaux.com/interview-with-jonny-mcb-regional-pilot/
- The Airline Cockpit in 7 Simple Steps https://capnaux.com/airline-cockpit-7-steps-updated/
Cleared to Land
Touching down next week
Miracle on the Hudson—Lessons Learned
A 2-part series not previously published on Capnaux.com
