Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Testers at Edwards meet with Auto GCAS survivorPublished Sept. 3, 2016
                    
                    By Kenji Thuloweit
                    
                    
                    412th Test Wing Public Affairs
            **EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) --**Test pilots and engineers from the 416th Flight Test Squadron had the chance to meet with one of the squadron’s success stories Aug. 25.The group met with an allied nation pilot trainee who survived gravity induced loss of consciousness in an F-16 Fighting Falcon after the aircraft’s Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System activated, executing a ground-avoidance maneuver, just as the system was designed to do. The 416th FLTS tested and proved the F-16’s Auto GCAS.The pilot, whose call sign is Ocho, and his instructor pilot came to Edwards Air Force Base at NASA’s request. Both pilots are assigned to the Arizona Air National Guard’s 152nd Fighter Squadron in Tucson, Arizona. The squadron has an international F-16 training program.The meeting took place in the C-Dot Auditorium -- named for Maj. Aaron "C-Dot" George, a 416th FLTS pilot killed in a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) incident with photographer Judson Brohmer in 2001.“They could have been saved by an (Auto) GCAS fly-up, but the jet they were flying didn't have the system,” said Lt. Col. Chris Keithley, the 416th FLTS commander. “Fast forward almost 15 years, and (an allied nation pilot) got a fly-up during air-to-air training in Arizona. He's not alone. To date, this technology has saved four pilots' lives in training and combat. This means their families didn't lose a husband, father, son or brother. It also means they're able to serve their country another day. It's a huge win and I can't overstate how meaningful it is.”The pilots were flying in two separate F-16s in the skies over the Southwest on May 5, when the trainee began a basic fighter maneuver.“I started to roll and started to pull and I’m following (the instructor pilot) with my eyes,” Ocho said. “The next thing I remember is just waking up and hearing ‘recover.’ It happened so fast. Usually, (when experienced at pulling Gs), most people get tunnel vision that gradually comes in. That’s what I always get, but that day I didn’t get anything.”The first thing Ocho heard when he regained consciousness was his instructor pilot, Maj. Luke O’Sullivan, saying “recover” several times. Once he opened his eyes, Ocho said he was confused for one second and then saw the ground coming very fast.“I was already at the controls, but it had seemed I had not moved at all. When I woke up, I thought, ‘What just happened? What’s going to happen?’ Everything just came to me at the same time. I immediately started to pull up.”Ocho’s F-16 Auto GCAS had already activated and the plane performed a roll-to-upright maneuver after sensing something was wrong.Auto GCAS is designed to prevent CFIT mishaps by executing an automatic recovery maneuver when terrain impact is imminent. The system predicts those conditions by means of a continuous comparison between a trajectory prediction and a terrain profile that is generated from onboard terrain elevation data. At the instant the predicted trajectory touches the terrain profile, the automatic recovery is executed by the Auto GCAS autopilot. The automatic recovery consists of an abrupt roll-to-upright and a nominal 5-G pull until terrain clearance is assured.After nearly three decades of development by the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, Lockheed Martin and the Air Force Research Laboratory, operational Auto GCAS systems began being installed throughout the Air Force F-16 fleet in 2013, following flight tests at the 416th FLTS.“It’s definitely a valuable system,” O’Sullivan said after witnessing Auto GCAS in action firsthand. “It does what it’s supposed to and it works.” Both O’Sullivan and Ocho said pilots in their squadron are briefed on what Auto GCAS does. Still, they found a visit with some of the system’s developers to be an eye-opening experience.“Walking out to the jet on a daily basis, I know a lot about the stick and throttle aspect of it, but ... I didn’t really think about all the different lines of code in the software and all the work that goes into testing to make sure it’s a viable system that’s not going to interfere with what we’re trying to do out there,” O’Sullivan said.Today, the 416th FLTS continues to work on two Auto GCAS-related programs, which are the Automatic Integrated Collision Avoidance System and the Hybrid Flight Control Computer (HFLCC). Auto ICAS is the integration of Auto GCAS and the Automatic Air Collision Avoidance System (Auto ACAS), and it essentially makes Auto ACAS ground-aware while still providing protection against aerial collisions. HFLCC introduces digital cards into the analog flight control computer of older F-16s, allowing them to run digital applications like Auto GCAS. The team also tests fixes to Auto GCAS issues that have been found in the field.“For the 416th (FLTS), the visit by the two pilots hammered home in a profound way how meaningful our work is,” Keithley said. “Often times, flight testers aren't able to see the results of their work. Fortunately, last Thursday we got to see that up close and personal.”The Air Force and Lockheed Martin are also looking at developing similar systems with the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.G-forces 



f-16 



Edwards AFB 



AFMC 



Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                Kendall, Allvin, Saltzman urge modernization while warning Senate of delayed budgets
                    
                    Readout of Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s travel to the Philippines
                    
                    Air Force senior leaders visit Eielson AFB
                    
                    Air Force leaders focus on ACE during Kadena AB visit
                    
                    USAF senior leaders visit Mariana Islands on ACE tripInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Cope Tiger concludes in Thailand
                    
                    Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil