AEDC F135 Test Team receives AFMC award

  • Published
  • By Raquel March
  • AEDC Public Affairs
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  The AEDC Aeropropulsion Ground Test team, who performed engine tests on the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, recently received an Air Force Materiel Command Test and Evaluation Award.

The award recognizes a team for superior test and evaluation achievements and contributions within AFMC.

The team was noted in the award nomination for making test cell modifications and upgrades which increased testing capabilities for the JSF Joint Program Office. From January to December 2015, the F135 testing consisted of accelerated mission testing, corrosion testing and a suite of altitude testing for both the Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing and the Conventional Take-Off and Landing engine variants.

The team was also cited for the ability to cross-train in multiple test cells which saved the customer money in scheduling tests. Additional training included engine maintenance and inspection skills making team members qualified to original equipment manufacturer standards during a test for the first time at AEDC.

The team restructured tests and processes resulting in utilities cost savings for the customer, according to the nomination.

The Air Force team members were Brandon Lucy, John Kelly, Richard Walker Jr., Eric Trad, Jonathan Lister, Paul Wright, Stephen Maccarino, Yancee Burchett, Steven Todd, Justin Harrell, Reginald Floyd, Adam Moon, Joel Nalin, Michael Parmentier, Michael Wrenn and Kate Tedford.

Numerous AEDC contractor personnel were involved in implementing all of the initiatives cited in the award nomination according to Brandon Lucy, an AEDC F135 test manager.

“Without our contractor teammates in the Turbines [Turbine Engine] Combined Test Force, there is no way this award would have been possible for AEDC,” he said.

The team will compete at the U.S. Air Force level for possible nomination as the Air Force Association Test Team of the Year Award.

-AEDC-