The US Army Aviation Flight Activity, An Overview

The US Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity (USAAEFA) is the Army organization responsible for engineer­ing flight tests leading to Airworthi­ness Qualification of Army aircraft. A knowledge of the who, where, and how of USAAEFA wil 1 be useful to individuals and contractors conducting aviation business with the Army. This paper will provide a broad, brush overview of USAAEFA capabilities, testing, method­ology, history, and organization. The 24-year history of USAAEFA will be briefly summarized as well as the ad­vantages in being collocated with the US Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), California. How USAAEFA fits into the US Army aviation structure and, in particular, how the organization is tasked by the US Army Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM) will also be discussed. The various test locations used will be shown. The full flight test capability will be described in terms of fabrication, maintenance, instrumentation, data acquisition and reduction, as well as test flying and reporting. Emphasis will be placed on the real-time data acquisition system (RDAPS). Tests will be discussed in terms of the major classes of testing done including per­formance, flying qualities, climatic laboratory, and icing. Emphasis will be placed on icing tests, both artifi­cial and natural, in which USAAEFA is a recognized leader.