Test pilots under instruction at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School prototyped new tools to measure the range of movement in airplane's control stick or a helicopter's cyclic control in flight, a vital calculation that is part of an upcoming test pilot's final flight test exam ahead of graduation. The instrument's designer, Army Maj. Chris Dudley, designed and fabricated the test instrument at the iHub, a facility with additive manufacturing and prototyping technology at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Patuxent River, Maryland. The new tool saves students 25% of their test evaluation time, and the school thousands of dollars since engineers produced it in-house. (U.S. Navy photo by Erik Hildebrandt)
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