C-27J SPARTAN Paratroops and loads airdrop qualification

Gianluca Evangelisti, Chief Test Pilot, Alenia Transport Aircraft, Caselle Torinese, Italy
Claudio Girolami, Flight Test Engineer, C-27J Flight Test Management, Alenia Aeronautica - Flight Test Dept, Caselle Torinese, Italy
Mauro Quadro, Flight Test Engineer, C-27J Handling Qualities and Performance, Alenia Aeronautica - Flight Test Dept, Caselle Torinese, Italy

Abstract

The military certification of the LMATTS C-27J tactical transport aircraft included various airdrop of paratroopers and loads. This paper deal with the flight test activity performed to achieve the task emphasising the composition of the test team that involved several Companies and Agencies in the various step of the program. The test, in fact, were planned, performed and analysed with the active co-operation of Italian Army, Italian Air Force, civilian paratrooper and equipment suppliers. The main task was to achieve the desired goals quickly and safely, in two very short scheduled time windows.

The whole campaign was carried out in two steps, with a first phase in 2002 and the completion of testing in 2003, for a total amount of 39 test flights. This presentation shows experiences and results achieved by the work team, focusing on the more uncommon tests performed such as external airflow measurements, maximum payload airdrop and LAPE technique operations, as well as propaedeutical steps, safety and hazard analysis.