AFTI Phase I Testing

Phase I flight-testing was conducted by the AFTI/F-16 Joint Test Force from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards AFB, CA, from July 10, 1982, through July 30, 1983. During this phase, five test pilots from NASA, the Air Force, and the U. S. Navy flew the aircraft. Initial flights checked out the aircraft’s stability and control systems. Handling qualities were assessed in air-to-air and air-to-ground scenarios, as well
as in-formation flight and during approach and landing. The Voice Command System allowed the pilot to change switch positions, display formats, and modes simply by saying the correct word. Initial tests were of the system’s ability to recognize words, with later testing conducted under increasing levels of noise, vibrations, and g-forces. Five pilots flew a total of 87 test sorties with the Voice Command System, with a gen­eral success rate approaching 90 percent. A prototype helmet-mounted sight was also evaluated. On July 30, 1983, the AFTI/F-16 aircraft was flown back to the General Dynamics facility at Fort Worth, TX, for mod­ification for Phase II. During the Phase I test effort, 118 flight-test sor­ties were flown, totaling about 177 flight hours. In addition to evaluating the DFCS, the potential operational utility of task-tailored flight modes (that included decoupling of aircraft attitude and flight path) was also assessed. During these unconventional maneuvers, the AFTI/F-16 dem­onstrated that it could alter its nose position without changing flight path and change its flight path without changing aircraft attitude. The air­craft also performed coordinated horizontal turns without banking or sideslip.[1183] NASA test pilot Bill Dana recounted: "In Phase I we evaluated non-classic flight control modes. By deflecting the elevators and flaps in various relationships, it was possible to translate the aircraft vertically without changing pitch attitude or to pitch-point the airplane without changing your altitude. You could also translate laterally without using bank and yaw-point without translating the aircraft, by using rudder and canard inputs programmed together in the flight control computer.”[1184]