Phil Medley reflects on his past 45 years at AEDC

  • Published
  • By Deidre Ortiz
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  Phillip Medley started his career at Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) right after graduating from Tennessee Tech University in 1969.

Forty-five years later, Medley, who now works as the Test Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment (TMDE) technical lead, remembers his interview like it was yesterday, commenting on the kindness he was shown that day.

"I spent most of the morning in the Engine Testing Facility (ETF) talking with the instrumentation folks," he said. "When it came lunchtime Mr. Will George offered to take me to the A&E Cafeteria for lunch. I panicked for a few seconds. I was so excited about [my] interview that I didn't make sure I had lunch money when I left home that morning. I secretly counted the change in my pocket as we went through the line and figured out I had enough change for a hot dog and a glass of water. I was very relieved when Mr. George bought my lunch for me."

Medley officially started at the base June 10, 1969, in the ESF Instrument Calibration Laboratory under Shirley Williams, supervisor of the Temperature Calibration Laboratory at the time.

He explained that he looked to Williams as a mentor.

"Shirley [Williams] was one of the best supervisors I've had in my career at AEDC - he gave me the 10,000 chances Thomas Edison referred to in one of his quotes, 'I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work,'" Medley said. "I spent 12 great years in the lab learning all about calibration, metrology and such from the instrument technicians, especially Calvin Rieben who taught me just about everything there is to know about temperature metrology from measurements near absolute zero, to working with the metallic freezing point standards."

Medley stated his most memorable, and perhaps the most stressful, moment in the lab occurred April 1, 1974.

"One of the technicians, Gene Smith, was calibrating the alternate current voltage standard in our multimeter calibration station and accidently came in contact with about 2,200 volts," he said. "I hit the circuit breaker to turn off the power and those nearby took care of Gene. He made it through the ordeal, and an investigation revealed a design flaw in the voltmeter he was using. Gene was following the correct safety procedures, but the 'holes in the Swiss cheese' just happened to line up to give him the electrical shock."

Medley received a letter of recognition from AEDC's general manager for doing his part in what could have been a life threatening accident.

Medley moved to ETF in 1982 and had the opportunity to gain some testing experience by spending the summer in the Solid Rocket Motor Test Facility J5.

"J5 was one of the ETF production test cells at the time," Medley explained. "Not only did I gain test experience, I gained new friends, including General Lee Gossick."

Maj. Gen. Gossick, now deceased, served as AEDC commander from 1964-67. After retiring from the Air Force, he returned to AEDC in 1980 to serve first as director of quality and safety, then as deputy general manager of the AEDC aeropropulsion testing contractor for nine years.

"Gossick shared his management philosophy with me - manage by walking around," Medley said. "That's one thing we all need to do, whether managing our home life or a big project at work. Stay involved with the 'team.'"

A noteworthy event came about in 1990, when Medley met the woman who would later become his wife.

"One of my job duties involved tracking down new instrument purchases to ensure the new items were correctly entered in the Instrument Management Information System," he said. "We received a monthly report of new items, but it didn't have all the information needed to track down the items. A colleague told me all the purchase requests went through material control and if I called [extension] 3930 the lady who answered the phone could tell me who bought each item. I tried it and it worked."

Medley began a friendship with the woman on the other end of the phone, and the calls became more frequent until he eventually went to visit her in person.

"Finally in 1995 I invited the young lady to go to the National Engineers Week Banquet with me and the rest is history," he said. "The 'voice at 3930' has been my wife for a happy 18 years."

Medley's wife, Karen, is still working at AEDC in the contracts office.

Another inspirational individual Medley speaks fondly of is Bill Earheart.

"Bill was always an engineer at heart and thinking of better ways to do things," Medley said.

Medley noted that over the years he's witnessed firsthand how much technology has advanced. For example, in the early 1990s, a systems engineer in the Central Computer Facility (CCF) introduced him to a computer program that extracted data from a database on the mainframe and allowed you to transfer that data to the PC, which was exciting news.

"At that time, it took a letter from your branch manager and director to get a report created by the CCF programming staff, and it took a long time to get the report. This program made the reports practically instantly."

Though he's looking towards retiring soon, Medley believes the TMDE program is in good hands and will continue to be successful.

"We (AEDC) now have a TMDE program we can be proud of," he said. "Our test data quality is the best it's ever been and we are meeting the Air Force customer's expectations for compliance with TMDE related technical orders. As we begin another page of TMDE history this fall as we welcome the new PMEL contractor to AEDC, I'm sure the TMDE community will do what needs to be done to make the new contractor feel at home at AEDC and get the job done."

Medley said he's enjoyed his career and appreciates those who've been supportive along the way.

"I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to work with the great people that made up the ARO/Sverdrup Instrument Branch, as well as many others from the other departments who gave me a good foundation. And there's the Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) generation - we have a great, highly performing workforce who knows how to use technology to keep AEDC at the forefront of the ground test community. Thanks to all of you for allowing me to share a wonderful 45 years at AEDC."