The Flight Test Process And The Flight Test Engineer - A Comparison Between EADS Military Aircraft And Saab

Jerker Karlsson. Systems and Flight Test Department, Saab AB, Linköping, Sweden
Peter Weiss, EADS Military Aircraft Flight Test, Manching, Germany

Abstract

During the autumn of 2002, in the spirit of The Society of Flight Test Engineers, an exchange of flight test engineers took place between EADS Military Aircraft and Saab. For three weeks a flight test engineer from Saab visited EADS Military Aircraft flight test facilities in Manching, Germany. Later on, EADS Military Aircraft returned the visit by sending a flight test engineer for three weeks to Saab’s flight test facilities in Linköping, Sweden.

This exchange made it possible to compare the two flight test departments. Focus when comparing EADS Military Aircraft and Saab was on the overall military flight test process and the role of the flight test engineer in that process.

The companies’ processes were compared from different angles such as what they look like, how they are implemented and what kind of different roles there are in the processes. Regarding the role of the flight test engineer and the work performed, comparison was made between how flight test programmes are produced, use of simulators and rigs for preparing the flight test, how both in-flight and post-flight analysis are done, what was included in the final report etc.

When comparing EADS Military Aircraft and Saab from a perspective of a military flight test process and the role of the flight test engineer, the overall impression is that the processes and the roles are quite similar in the two companies. Minor differences can be found, often caused by variations in organisation and differences in the projects.

Flight test engineer exchange programmes are a good tool to understand the processes of another company in the aerospace business. Both at business and personal level, it lead to a better understanding of how the companies “think” and act.