Test flight

“ The test, which was held on the 4th of July, 1908, near Hammondsport, was the first official flight for a prize in America, and was successful in every way, winning the cup with a flight of 200 yards. This biplane had the three-rudder control—that is, a tail at the rear shaped like a box kite to steer it from right to left, two small parallel planes in front to steer it up or down, and a system of flexible wing tips which enabled the operator to maintain a side to side balance. ”

“ On January 12, 1960, the Board recommended to the Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency, that flight recorders be installed in all new transport-type airplanes and presently operating turbine-powered transport-type airplanes. Subsequent to that date and as a result of the information gained from the flight recorder in this accident, the Board has expressed the opinion to the Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency, that recorders should also be installed and operating during the training, test, and ferry-flight operations of these air carrier airplanes. ”

“ The pioneer aviator built himself what he considered a “strong airplane,” but when he attempted flight under weather conditions not so favorable as those on which he had counted, some untested part gave way. So in the early days there were many tragedies. To-day, the airplane has become a safe mount indeed, for not only is the finished machine tried out before it is put into use, but each separate part is subjected to the most exacting series of tests. If it does not bear up under at least six times the strain it will ever be called on to endure in flight, it is rejected as unfit. ”

“ The excuse cannot be made that his mechanics had performed this all-important work of inspection, for their attention was centred on the daring "banking" evolutions of some audacious pilot in the aerodrome.
Mr. C. G. Grey, the well-known writer on aviation matters, and the editor of The Aeroplane, says, with regard to the need of inspection of air-craft:—
"A pilot is simply asking for trouble if he does not go all over his machine himself at least once a day, and, if possible, every time he is starting for a flight. ”

“ In the U.S., instrument landing systems are flight-inspected on a periodic basis. The -- the period ranges from a few months to about 10 months at the maximum.
During each of these flight tests, the alignment of the localizer and the glide path, the amount of needle deflections when the aircraft is off the path, and the actions of the ground-based monitoring system that removes the signal from service when it exceeds certain standards, are all tested and recordings are made. Every other flight inspection is a brief one, might take 30 to 45 minutes. ”

“ However, there are many three-crew aircraft operating in the world today with either flight engineers as pilot or engineer in the third seat who are forward-facing for take-off and landing and who do have assigned duties of monitoring the pilots. ”

“ THE WITNESS: Certainly. The airmen's information manual and -- and ground school in the general case addresses these issues, although I don't have any oversight knowledge about how -- how thorough that is.
CHAIRMAN FRANCIS: Okay.
MR. PHILLIPS: As part of this flight testing and ground testing of the equipment, are the FAA technicians who perform these tests and review them specially trained or certified?
THE WITNESS: Yes. ”

“ The flying machine which will navigate successfully in a perfectly quiet atmosphere may be unseaworthy, or rather, unairworthy, when a wind springs up, or the shifting of the wind may spoil all the air pilot’s plans. To add to his troubles, the aviator must move among air currents which change and change again in a moment’s time. As we study the difficulties of air navigation we will appreciate, more than ever, the wonderful patience, skill, and daring of the successful aviators.
The action of the air currents had first to be carefully studied before flight became possible. ”

“ Experience, the researches of science, and the growing skill with which aircraft are built, stand between the airman and many of his previous dangers. The aeroplane to-day, one of the structural triumphs of the world in its lightness and its strength, has a factor of safety which is sufficient to meet, and to withstand, not merely ordinary strains, but any such abnormal stresses as it may encounter—and which may be many times greater than the strains of normal flight. ”

“ THE WITNESS: No. Los Angeles are all -- have all -- have four pilots, and they're all -- that's my authorized strength there.
MR. BERMAN: Okay. Thank you. How does the FAA evaluate the flyability or the difficulty of an instrument approach procedure?
THE WITNESS: Well, that's a little out of my expertise now, but I was at one time a flight inspector, and it was -- we actually flew the procedure, and we evaluated it again for the lowest, in our estimation, quality -- not quality, experienced pilot, could he fly that procedure on the original commissioning flight check. ”

“ OBSERVATIONS WHILE IN FLIGHT.—If there are any bad spots, or trees, or dangerous places, they should be spotted out, and mentally noted before attempting to make any flight. When in the air during these trials you will have enough to occupy your mind without looking out for the hazardous regions at the same time.
Make the first turns in a still air. If you should attempt to make the first attempts with a wind blowing you will find a compound motion that will very likely give you a surprise. In making the first turn you will get the sensation of trying to fly against a wind. ”

“ Watch the successful model as it gains its altitude, settles down to a horizontal flight, is perhaps knocked off its course by a cross current, and steadies itself with a graceful curve and proceeds on its way.
All these problems must be anticipated. The young aviator must ingeniously arrange his planes and ballast in advance. The regular sky pilot, on the other hand, meets the problems of the air as he encounters them, by flexing his wings against disturbing currents or by banking to maintain an even keel at a turn. ”

“ A pupil will feel curious, naturally, as to his sensations in the first flights he makes with his instructor. Of the exact moment when the machine leaves ground he will be unaware probably, save for the cessation of any jolting or vibration, such as may be caused by the contact of the running wheels with the surface of the aerodrome. His first clearly-marked sensation, when in actual flight, will occur most likely when the pilot rises a little sharply, so as to gain altitude. ”

“ The handicap was not a serious one, and I think I may truthfully say that we kept pace with our French comrades. The most important thing was to gain actual flying experience, and as much of it as possible. Only in this way can one acquire a sensitive ear for motors, and an accurate sense of flying speed: the feel of one's machine in the air. These are of the greatest importance. Once the pilot has developed this airman's sixth sense, he need not, and never does, worry about the scantiness of his knowledge of the theory of flight. ”

“ The observer in charge keeps the log of the flight, records the data that gives the pilot his bearings and enables him to find his way through unmarked space, prepared at any minute to sound warnings of perils ahead or behind that the eye can not detect. His record of the pressure of the aerometer gives the speed of the machine as nearly as instruments can show it. ”

“ Following its arrival in Washington, the airplane was serviced with gasoline and oil and was given a routine "turn-around" inspection. This inspection consists of a general visual examination of the airplane, especially of the propellers, wing and tail surfaces, and the controls which are visible from the outside, and the testing of the controls, engines, instruments, and radio equipment. In addition, the interior of the airplane is cleaned and the outside surfaces wiped off. ”

“ All this time the Pilot is carefully buckling his belt and making himself perfectly easy and comfortable, as all good pilots do. As he straightens himself up from a careful [30] inspection of the Deviation Curve10 of the Compass and takes command of the Controls, the Throttle and the Ignition, the voices grow fainter and fainter until there is nothing but a trembling of the Lift and Drift wires to indicate to his understanding eye their state of tension in expectancy of the Great Test. ”

“ The first step in learning to fly consists in studying the structure of the aeroplane and of the aeronautical engine, and aerodynamics, or the science of the forces that aid or hinder the flight of heavier-than-air machines. During the last half-dozen years many of the manufacturers of aircraft maintained schools in order to encourage men to learn the art of flying, and have given their pupils the chance to study at first hand the designing, the building, and the assembling of aeroplanes and hydroplanes. ”

“ Nevertheless there are so much greater possibilities in flying than in any other of the arts, that it is no wonder the amateur wants to develop them. And in conclusion I can say that an aeroplane in perfect condition is as safe as an automobile going at the same speed–and I mean it!
CHAPTER III HOW IT FEELS TO FLY (By Augustus Post.)
There is no one question that people ask more often than: "How does it feel to fly!" Perhaps a passenger feels more keenly the sensations of flight than an aviator because his mind is not taken up with the operation of the controls. ”

“ And the third one of a different approach, I have been taught, and I taught as an instructor, when you're flying an ILS, you automatically would start timing at a FAF, which is not necessarily the same as the ILS, for the approach or if any reason, you lost the glide scope in your aircraft or on the ground, you could continue on the localizer approach as long as you hadn't gone below the MDA, and the approach is right in front of you, and you don't have to fumble and try to find another approach to complete it or make a missed approach. ”

“ The feats which the world has watched with such breathless interest at aviation meets at Rheims, Pau, or Los Angeles are reproduced in miniature in these boys’ contests without loss of enthusiasm. The weeks or months of preparation in scores of little workshops are now put to an actual test. The model air-ship, which has cost so many anxious and delightful hours in the building, is to spread its wings with scores of similar air-craft. The superiority of the monoplane or biplane forms is to be tested without fear or favor. ”

“ At three thousand feet altitude the Pilot is satisfied that he is now sufficiently high to secure, in the event of engine failure, a long enough glide to earth to enable him to choose and reach a good landing-place; and, being furthermore content with the steady running of the engine, he decides to climb no more but to follow the course he has mapped out. Consulting the compass, he places the Aeroplane on the A–E course and, using the Elevator, he gives his craft its minimum angle of incidence at which it will just maintain horizontal flight and secure its maximum speed. ”

“ Methods should be developed for collecting and correlating the experiences that airplane pilots may have with exceptional turbulence, or other unusual atmospheric conditions. It happens from time to time that a pilot, military, airline, or private, observes some exceptional atmospheric condition, or some exceptional effect upon the flight of the aircraft. The ability of pilots to benefit from one another's experiences in such matters is quite largely limited to the results of informal report. ”

“ Every conceivable test has been tried which could give information that would lead to any improvement in strength to withstand strains, in addition to the complete knowledge that has come from actual tests under all conditions in the air, and on the ground itself, by expert flyers who have done almost everything that it is possible to do with the machine as far as trying to find its weak point is concerned. ”

“ The workload of such a procedure, I think, is considerably less than attempting to fly level, for instance, a descent to an MDA in a jet aircraft that's 3 or 400 feet above the field typically in a landing configuration requires fine judgment to then seek visual reference over a nose pointing in the air and then complete an approach at the right descent path to the runway, all of that in limiting conditions. ”

“ In order to acquire the aviator's certificate, the candidate must accomplish two long distance flights and one altitude flight; he must be able to cut figures of eight and to land without the slightest injury to his machine. In other words he must prove to the satisfaction of his examiners that he is able to handle an airplane skilfully, barring of course any fancy exploits in the air. ”

“ THE WITNESS: Okay. An instrument landing system is a ground-based electronics system composed of about six subsystems that provide lateral and vertical guidance and fixes or rough knowledge of position to the pilot along the approach path to an airport.
MR. PHILLIPS: Would you -- would we like to go ahead and put up Page 6 of Exhibit 9-E, Teddy? Would this help in your discussion?
THE WITNESS: Well, yes, thank you. This is the simplified but sufficient diagram of the nature of the needle indications that are provided to a pilot while flying an instrument landing system approach. ”

“ Under such circumstances it is impossible to tell what the plane is doing. It may be upside down or turning giant circles. Without instruments the pilot simply does not know his position in space—there are no outside landmarks with which to check. Of course, if one is really upside down for any length of time one’s feet drop back from the rudder and the safety belt tightens; or if in a skid a side blast of wind gives a belated warning, etc. ”