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      Rafiq Viray, a model maker with the 412th Maintenance Squadron’s instrumentation division, threads mount holes in the base of the flight test engineer workstation scheduled to be used for KC-46A Pegasus testing. The workstation was designed in modules for ease of construction, installation and reconfiguration. (U.S. Air Force photo/Christopher Ball)Rafiq Viray, a model maker with the 412th Maintenance Squadron’s instrumentation division, threads mount holes in the base of the flight test engineer workstation scheduled to be used for KC-46A Pegasus testing. The workstation was designed in modules for ease of construction, installation and reconfiguration. (U.S. Air Force photo/Christopher Ball)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Engineers, technicians support KC-46 tanker testing on the groundPublished June 29, 2016
                    
                    By Christopher Ball
                    
                    
                    412th Test Wing Public Affairs
            **EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) --**Refueling developmental testing with the KC-46A Pegasus is taking place over 1,000 miles away in the Pacific Northwest, with Edwards Air Force Base supporting with chase aircraft.
Base personnel have been working to provide testing support on the ground and in the air. One aspect is the engineering and development of modifications to aircraft to support tanker testing and qualification. 
The aircraft are certified by Edwards AFB personnel to receive fuel from the KC-46, said Rosie Feord, the 412th Test Engineering Division modification manager for the KC-46 program.
A number of aircraft at Edwards AFB have been modified with fuel pressure sensors and a recording device called a battery operated data-10 (BOD-10) acquisition system to record fuel flow and pressure during refueling operations. The data from these aircraft will support air refueling certification: the ability of KC-46 to deliver fuel to a variety of aircraft, and an aircraft’s ability to receive fuel from other tankers. To accomplish this, a number of aircraft -- more than 13 different types -- will be fitted with the BOD-10 modification, including F-15 Eagles and A-10 Thunderbolt IIs at Eglin AFB, Florida.
The battery-powered unit was chosen because installation is easier and less expensive. The alternative would be building and installing a unit that ran off the aircraft’s internal power.
"We would have to tap into the (aircraft’s) electrical system,” Feord said. “This means we'd have to take the airplane apart and run a bunch of wiring.”
The battery-powered system was designed and built by engineers from the 412th TENG, and model makers and instrumentation technicians in the 412th Maintenance Group's instrumentation squadron.
In addition to the BOD-10s, work is now underway to build flight test engineer workstations, which will be installed in the KC-46 and collect data for the air refueling certification. According to Feord, these are the most important pieces of the puzzle.
"Without these, ARC can't happen," she said.
Greg Didoha, the lead engineer for the workstations, has been working on the design since February 2015.
"The design of the workstation was part of a requirement that we could get a plane out here, put our stuff on really quick, plug into the airplane and go fly test points," he said. "When they're all done we pull of our pallet and the plane goes away."
Didoha's design for the workstations started with basic ergonomic requirements. He then had to build in the specific requirements of the flight test engineers. Finally, he had to figure out how to get the station on board the aircraft without breaking anything. The engineer also designed the workstations with the future in mind.
"I decided to look at the design as generic, since we have other (cargo and refueling) planes. So, it's something we could put in any one of them," he said. "It may have initially complicated the design, but over time it will help."
According to Didoha, the workstation is basically modular. It is outfitted with equipment specifically for the KC-46 but could be tailored to other projects without any permanent modification to the structure.
"We can reconfigure it however we want to. If a plane can hold a pallet we can probably slide this on, reconfigure it and go," he said.Engineer 



Edwards AFB 



KC-46 



testing 



AFMC

Related Links
        KC-46A Pegasus
                                Feb. 1, 2016
                                The KC-46A is the first phase in recapitalizing the U.S. Air Force's aging tanker fleet. With greater refueling, cargo and aeromedical evacuation capabilities compared to the KC-135, the KC-46A will provide aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and partner-nation receivers. Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                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
                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
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 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