Test Pilot: The Boss Part 2: USAF Test Pilot School - Maciej "Match" Hatta

So something that we've talked about fairly often on the show is that there's a big divide between being an operational pilot and then instructing, and that's, like, a big mindset shift.

How does it change when you go from being an operational pilot to a test pilot? What's the mindset shift that has to happen?

Yeah, so like we alluded to a bit in the first episode, it really is a rewiring of your brain.

So up to now, I'd say, like, I'm just throwing this out there, but, you know, 95% of pilots have been taught one way to fly, and that's using pilot compensation techniques and just making it happen in the airplane at the flight controls to basically get what you want out of the airplane.

I have to fly a forced landing pattern, I have to do this and that, and everything that goes along with it.

When you get into test flying, you may have to do that occasionally to put the airplane where you want it, but often you're gonna get test cards that have certain parameters and points, and they might not necessarily make sense or jive with normal flying.

Like, why do you want me at 10 A- AOA, but descending specifically at a certain rate of descent or some- weird test point and it's all to affect what you want out of that test point.

Say, for example, on the tutor, like we go and select the speed brakes out and the speed brakes are side mounted on the tutor at the back of the fuselage, as most people probably have seen in photos.

And now the hydraulics are imbalanced and one speed brake comes out a little quicker than the other.

While in a flight test campaign, that would be an observation that, hey, there's probably some likely yaw results from the speed brakes deploying asymmetrically.

Whereas in operational flying, in the case we know it as the snowbirds, it wouldn't be a test pilot thing.

I would just have to compensate for it with rudders so I keep straight, so I don't throw off my wingers who are now dancing and skating around with me to try to make the formation happen.

So it's a real rewiring of your brain to be able to think in a different way about all the flying you're doing.

And it may not always make sense why you're there doing it until you see the end product or the end bit of data that you want out of it and be like, okay, it makes sense why we're there doing that specifically because it's supposed to do this at that point.

And we observe whether it does or not.

And so it's more raw data collection than operational flying, which is just making it happen to get there or to basically get the weapons on target or to get the approach in or any other kind of operational flying goal.

It sounds like you're using your practical pilot skills, but learning more of an engineering mindset to flying.

Yeah, exactly.

And you're trying to, the biggest thing is variable isolation as well.

Like if you just make it happen in like a closed pattern in Moose Jaw and, you know, two to three Gs and roll out downwind somewhere, okay, you've done that.

But if you're evaluating the airplane and its ability to bank from side to side, you need to be very specific and meticulous about how you're doing that so that you can, so that it's repeatable.

So the age old thing was, well, if you're sick that test day, can we bring another test pilot in and pick up where you left off based off your cards and your notes? And if you can't do that, then it's a challenge for the test program getting ahead.

It's a limitation for, you know, the program overall.