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May 29, 2015 Desert Wings
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by Rebecca Amber on left, on the right,” she said paraphrasing Air Force photograph by Rebecca Amber
Staff writer the second phase team lead Lt. Col. Michael
E. Pelletier. Dr. Stephanie Smith received the Robert F. Futrell Award for Excellence in historical publications
Developmental test and evaluation hap- for her special study, “Deployed Flight Test of the Iraqi Air Force Comp Air 7SLX (CA-7).”
pens in the most controlled environments As she conducted her research, Smith
with many safety procedures in place. At saw that the project was completed in a
least, it usually does. center construct, before the AFTC enter-
prise was established. She also saw that the
“Deployed Flight Test of the Iraqi Air fundamentals taught at the USAF Test Pilot
Force Comp Air 7SLX (CA-7)” by Dr. School proved to be invaluable.
Stephanie Smith, Air Force Test Center Of-
¿FHRI+LVWRU\WHOOVDYHU\GLIIHUHQWVWRU\ “They followed the process, they gath-
It’s the story of a DT and E mission in an ered the data and they listened to the data,”
active combat zone at Kirkuk Air Base, said Smith. “That data made their case for
Iraq. For her research and efforts in creating them.”
this special study, Smith received a Robert
F. Futrell Award for Excellence in Historical Special studies can be done by Air Force
Publications this month. historians in addition to the periodic his-
tories that are written annually. The stud-
The story takes place in Fiscal Year 2006 ies are intended to take unique pieces of
when testers from Edwards and around Air history and tell them in a more accessible,
Force Materiel Command were requested story format.
WRGHSOR\WR,UDTDQGFRQGXFWÀLJKWWHVWRI
the Comp Air 7SLX. The kit planes were “Deployed Flight Test of the Iraqi Air
purchased by the United Arab Emirates and Force Comp Air 7SLX (CA-7)” can be
given to the Iraqi Air Force for aerial recon- downloaded at http://www.dtic.mil/docs/
naissance. citations/ADA609476.

“This was a different sort of test in a lot of To request a free hard copy, email the Air
different ways,” said Smith. “It really does Force Test Center History Office at aftc.
show that if you ask us, we can give you ho.mailbox@us.af.mil.
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Air Force photograph
The testing was done in two phases, the
¿UVWE\DVPDOOWHDPLQFOXGLQJLQVWUXFWRUV A Comp Air 7SLX is unloaded from a C-17 at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, for testing as a potential aerial reconnaissance vehicle for the Iraqi Military.
and graduates of the U.S. Air Force Test
Pilot School that conducted an initial
evaluation of the Comp Air 7. In the sec-
ond phase of testing, Air Force Materiel
Command deployed a larger team to the
test, which included maintenance person-
nel from the combat support teams from
across AFMC.

“The second phase ended rather abruptly
when the team called a ‘knock it off’ and
said this is not safe,” said Smith.

One of the biggest problems with the air-
craft was that the kit planes were not very
standardized. Each one might have a differ-
ent weight, fuselage structure or wing place-
ment. Smith said the kit plane enthusiasts
on the team she interviewed compared the
situation to building a car without detailed
instructions.

“It’s as if you were building a car and all
the directions say was, ‘the brake pedal goes
in the driver compartment’ and it could be

Air Force photograph

The Comp Air 7SLX is a kit plane that brought developmental test and evaluation to a combat zone in Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, in the mid-2000s.