Raving about the raptor: whether he's flying for the Air Force or for Lockheed Martin, Lt. Col. Alan Norman loves the new F/A-22

For Air Force reservist Lt. Col. Alan Norman, flying the F/A-22 Raptor, the Air Force's newest fighter and one of the most technologically advanced aircraft ever built, on a daily basis isn't the most difficult thing about his job.

With many years of experience as a test pilot, he feels at home in the cockpit, so the aircraft's sophisticated systems and awesome performance capabilities don't bother him.

On the contrary, the toughest thing about his job each day, he said, doesn't have anything to do with flying. Instead, it involves figuring out what color flight suit to wear.

Does he put on his green Air Force flight suit? Or, does he wear either his tan or blue Lockheed Martin flight suit? The answer depends on who he's flying for that day.

Colonel Norman flies the F/A-22 for both the Air Force, as an individual mobilization augmentee assigned to the three 412th Operations Group deputy group commanders at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and the plane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, where he works as a civilian. He's been alternating flight suits since leaving active duty in 1999.

"I am very fortunate to work for two great organizations: the Air Force and Lockheed Martin," the colonel said. "Each job gives me the insight and knowledge to make the other one better."

"Al brings to Lockheed Martin and the F/A-22 program the unique perspective of seeing things from both sides of the fence," said Bret Luedke, Lockheed Martin F/A-22 chief test pilot. "As Colonel Norman, he gets a first-hand sense of what the U.S. Air Force is looking for in its new air dominance fighter. As Mr. Norman, he is able to bring these insights directly to the F/A-22 program and make real changes that improve the product Lockheed Martin is delivering."

Regardless of which flight suit Colonel Norman is wearing, he raves about the Raptor's systems and capabilities.

"This aircraft has super-powerful engines that can propel it above Mach 1.5 at 40,000 feet without afterburner power," he said. "The flight controls and wings make it extremely maneuverable. It has stealth capability, a glass cockpit and an internal avionics center that fuses all the systems together,"

Another major improvement of the F/A-22 over existing aircraft is its ability, when a problem does occur, to tell the pilot what system is affected. This capability relieves the pilot from the responsibility of having to be a technician, with his attention focused inside the cockpit. Instead, he can be a tactician and focus his energy on what's going on outside the cockpit.

Mr. Luedke said the Raptor communicates problems to the pilot via an integrated caution and warning system. When the system identifies a problem, the pilot can display the associated checklist with the push of a button.

"The electronic checklist is 'smart" in the sense it only displays information specific to the particular fault, minimizing the amount of troubleshooting the pilot must perform in flight," Mr. Luedke said.

The F/A-22 program is selectively manned with active-duty test pilots. Colonel Norman, who has been flying the F/A-22 since July, got involved because there was an increasing number of aircraft that needed to be flight tested before delivery to Tyndall AFB, Fla., for pilot training. Also, he was a member of a safety board, a position that required him to fly the aircraft while on active-duty orders.

"Colonel Norman brings an impeccable reputation as a test pilot and vast experience in the fighter test community to the F/A-22 program," said Col. Brian A. Simpson, 412th Operations Group commander at Edwards.

Colonel Simpson said having Colonel Norman involved in the program adds creditability to the combined test force construct, which includes active-duty people, reservists, government civilian employees and contractors. He added that having developmental as well as operational testers from Air Force Material Command, Air Combat Command and the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center all working together breaks downs the walls between the various communities.

"Ultimately, we as a test community get a better product out to the warfighters so they can do their job of protecting our bottom-line customer--the folks we see each night sitting around our dinner table," Colonel Simpson said.

When Colonel Norman flew the Raptor for the first time as a reservist, he not only became the first to accomplish the feat but also became the military member with the most flying hours in the aircraft. He has more than 350 hours in the F/A-22.

"I am fortunate to lead the pack for IMAs," he said. "Hopefully, as more and more bases receive the F/A-22, more IMAs and reservists will have the opportunity to fly this dream aircraft. There is a lot to say for the role IMAs and reservists can bring keeping the continuity going in the Raptor program."

Continuity in the operations group is also a concern for Colonel Simpson. With more than 80 aircraft assigned to eight different flight test support squadrons, there must be a director of flight operations on the ground available to handle any situation that arises.

"Colonel Norman has been here at Edwards longer than I or any of my deputies, so he brings continuity to flight operations," he said. "He's dropped whatever he was doing to help us out whenever we've had to ask."

Besides the continuity Colonel Norman brings to the operations group, he also has 10 years of experience at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, something Colonel Simpson said is important to the school even though he doesn't directly have operational control over the facility. He said Colonel Norman's teaching experience helps with balancing the rotation of active-duty test pilots in and out of the school.

"Continuity is a balancing act between the needs of the Air Force, the unit in question and the individual pilot," Colonel Simpson said. "Fortunately, keeping folks around three, four or, in the case of Colonel Norman, 10 years allows us to plan our manning so changeovers don't happen all in the same year."

Colonel Norman taught at the school once a week until the pace of F/A-22 testing no longer made that possible. Now, he might teach once a month. When the colonel does teach, he instructs students on how to widen the envelope for testing, what to expect as a solo pilot and the difference in the airframes from fighter to fighter or service to service. Many of the test pilots at the school are Navy pilots who have flown either F-14s or F-18s.

Colonel Norman said the biggest thing to teach test pilots who will fly the F/A-22 is not to get caught up in the moment of flying the Raptor for the first time because ultimately there is a job to do.

"The aircraft is eye-watering with all the capabilities it has," he said. "There is no comparison between the legacy F-15 and F-16 aircraft and the Raptor. This aircraft will be around long enough that our children can fly it and not have to worry about being defeated."

That is a sentiment that former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman voiced when the Air Force was considering purchasing the new aircraft.

"The F-22 won't just defend our airspace--it will allow us to dominate the other guy's airspace and take away his sanctuaries," General Fogleman said. "When somebody talks about parity in the air-to-air business, they do not understand that's not good enough. You've got to be dominant."

Colonel Norman said he has experienced things in the F/A-22 that have amazed him. For example, during his first flight he was flying along marveling at the aircraft's superb response and flying qualities when a shadow passed overhead. He looked up and saw an F-16 trying to "hang" with him. He remembers looking down at his instrument panel and noticing that he was flying at 140 knots, turning and banking at Cessna speeds in a supersonic fighter. He said the Raptor was just as happy flying this slow, slower than the F-16 could, as it was flying wide open.

During another flight, Colonel Norman remembers "drag racing" an F-16 that had a head start and flying by it like a rocket passing an object that was standing still.

Colonel Norman admits he has concerns for his safety during testing of an aircraft but knows that precautions are in place to minimize those risks and trusts the Lockheed Martin team of engineers and aircraft builders to deliver a safe aircraft. One of the flight safety precautions is to have a chase plane fly along with the Raptor to ensure the aircraft is performing correctly and no outside structural damage is occurring.

According to the colonel, teamwork is the key to the program, regardless of whether someone works for Lockheed Martin, the Air Force or, in his case, both.

"I am an advocate for this program getting the word across for what this aircraft can do for the country, regardless of what company I may be working for at the time," he said. "There's pride knowing nothing can stop it from the air or ground. It's unstoppable, and that's what the American people deserve."

COPYRIGHT 2004 Air Force Reserves
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group