By BILL SWANSON
NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs

PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD— Past, present and future test pilots gathered here April 24 to 26 for two days of symposium presentations and a day of golf, sailing and socializing.

The event was actually a back-to-back scheduling of two events. On April 24, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots held its 19th East Coast Symposium at the J.T. Daugherty Conference Center off station. That symposium featured nine presentations, a luncheon talk by Vice Adm. Joe Dyer, NAVAIR commander, and an evening reception. It was specifically scheduled to be held a day before the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School’s 55th Symposium and Reunion April 25 and 26 at TPS, with additional events and recreation held at the Cedar Point Golf Course, Officers’ Club and Patuxent River Sailing Club.

More than 100 test pilots and engineers attended the SETP symposium, including the entire current “senior class” (Class 123) of TPS, commanding officers of several Pax squadrons, and past and present test pilots and engineers from Pax, from military contractors from the surrounding region, and even a few from other areas of the country.

During the SETP lunch, Dyer talked about “News of the world from NAVAIR’s front office,” and what makes a great test pilot. During the question-and-answer period, Dyer fielded a tough one and expressed guarded optimism that the future round of Base Relocation and Closure cuts should leave the Navy in general and NAVAIR in particular undisturbed.

During the TPS luncheon April 25, former X-35 Joint Strike Fighter chief test pilot Tom Morgenfeld was the keynote speaker, describing the X-35 program with the theme of keeping organizations small and fast-moving.

Following Morgenfeld’s talk the TPS presented its four annual outstanding achievement awards. The winners are:

Outstanding Test Pilot of the Year: Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Lynch of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 21, for his work as test pilot and MH-60S coordinator; though he was not present, he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. His citation reads in part: “Demonstrating exemplary aviation, engineering and leadership skills, he completed a myriad of complex Rotary Wing flight tests. His technical understanding of aircraft systems, test requirements, and impacts on operational issues were key to the safe and efficient execution of expanded gross weight capabilities, a prototype advanced infrared suppression system, shipboard launch and recovery envelopes, and instrument certification of the common cockpit.”

Outstanding Naval Flight Officer of the Year: Lt. Cmdr. Charles Hewgley IV, of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 for his work as mission systems lead project officer on P-3C Orion communications and weapons systems. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. His citation reads in part: “Demonstrating exceptional project management, and flight test skills, he coordinated multiple teams to evaluate product improvements to P-#C communication, sensor and weapons systems. His leadership of the anti-surface warfare improvement program, recommendations on the communication navigation surveillance and air traffic management system architecture, and development of network centric warfare and time-critical strike capabilities demonstrated advanced technologies and increased fleet capabilities.”

Outstanding Flight Test Engineer of the Year: Lori Gallo. She received a letter of commendation that reads in part: “Throughout her 16-year career ... and specifically her last 14 years in Strike Mission Systems community, Ms. Gallo’s superb leadership, engineering and management skills have been key to the outstanding support she continues to provide .... [S]he is responsible for an overall budget of $10.2 million involving over 42 work-years of effort from her teams. Her programs interface with 12 NAVAIR IPTS, 27 NAWCAD competencies, four fleet squadrons, Naval Test Wing Atlantic squadrons, eight government agencies, and 11 different contractors nationwide. Among her most recent contributions included the evaluation of the F/A-18 Shared Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP). ... [A]ll odds were defied by completing the required testing on the SHARP system in time to permit its early introduction into the fleet. She completed this while simultaneously juggling five major programs ....Without her efforts, the first F/A-18F deployment would have gone without a tactical reconnaissance capability.”

Outstanding Test Pilot School Instructor of the Year: Army Chief Warrant Officer Dan Wells, who was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, which reads in part that Wells “has been consistently recognized by students as the best of an elite cadre of instructors. He single-handedly designed the ADS-33 Rotary Wing handling qualities course and initiated training in two new test techniques, markedly enhancing the low-airspeed training for Rotary Wing students.”

-USN-