F-22 commander sees remarkable test year

In an aggressive testing program, Moore led the team to the congressionally mandated goal of 183 flight hours in November. Last week, the program's status received a favorable review from the Pentagon.

With those accomplishments, the F-22 main contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., has received the funds to start production.

Meanwhile, the test program is looking ahead to 1999 when the F22, the next generation air superiority fighter, will fly at supercruise.

Last July, Moore took over a test program that began flying in May at Edwards Air Force Base with one aircraft and had another beginning to fly in Georgia.

"My first impression was that the Air Force and contractor has put some of the finest talent on this program," Moore said. "I saw my No. 1 challenge to keep this group of people going in the same direction."

No sooner had he taken over when a top Pentagon official said that the 183 hour mark would be virtually impossible to reach.

In August, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan upped the ante, ordering the test team to fly the 183 hours by Thanksgiving.

To reach the mark of 183 was not easy, Moore said. Even though the F-22 is considered a top of the line weapon, Moore said that there are inherent unknowns when testing a new system. Problems that might have seriously slowed the program could have appeared at any time.

The team worked 12 hour days and weekends and before Thanksgiving the test force had reached 183 hours. As of the end of 1998, the F-22 test program has flown 199.9 flight hours.

"What I've marveled at is that it was such a common goal that it pulled people together," said Moore of the 183 hour goal.

"The people were willing to go above and beyond to make it happen," he added.

In addition, the F-22 test team expanded the Raptor's envelope well beyond the test points set up for the first year.

Here are three examples given by Moore:

Objective: 18 degrees angle of attack. Actual: 26 degrees.

Objective: 30,000 feet. Actual: 50,000 feet.

Objective: Mach 1. Actual: Mach 1.4.

"For any weapons system to perform like this in the first few months has been phenomenal," Moore said.

By Oct. 10, the day the F-22 went supersonic, all the test point milestones had been met in less than 90 hours of flight.

Both aircraft have had a decrease in flight rate since the 183 mark was met. Both have been brought in for maintenance to fix problems but, according to the test team, nothing major has come up.

Both aircraft have undergone modifications with Raptor 01 having been completed and the modifications to Raptor 02 being completed in mid-January.

Moore took over as commander of the 411 Flight Test Squadron from Lt. Col Allen E. Kohn, who retired. By October, Moore had his first flight in the Raptor.

In December, he had flown the Raptor to 50,000 feet. That test, as well as others, showed off one of the F-22s impressive features to Moore - the engines.

"We're doing things with these engines you wouldn't dream of doing," said Moore comparing the F22 engines to other jet fighters like the F-15 and F-16. "It really felt like an up-and-away fighter."

The engines will be on display next year as the test team uses the F-22s unique supercruise, flying beyond the speed of sound without the use of afterburners.

The ground test version of the F-22 will be completed next year and mark the beginning of ground testing.

In addition, the low observable or stealth technology as well as post stall flight with thrust vectoring, will be tested.

Moore, echoing a common Air Force sentiment, said he hoped that 1999 will bring a year when flight hours are not a major topic of discussion.

"The key for us is to achieve performance criteria in the air," Moore said. "The key is performance . . . by flight point accomplishment. Flight hours will come out of that."