Fort Rucker pilots aim for high marks

“Above the Best” is the slogan of Army Aviation. But to “test above the best” is the mission of the Army Aviation Technical Test Center at Fort Rucker.

That was the message Lynn Hanks and Jim Correia brought to Enterprise Lions Club members Wednesday as they outlined the history
and purpose of the Army’s technical testing.

Hanks is a retired Army aviator with more than 35 years experience as a pilot and has been involved in engineering flight testing for more than 30 years, 25 of which are as an experimental test pilot. Correia is also a retired Army aviator with 30 years military service prior to his return to Fort Rucker where he serves as a Department of the Army Civilian Experimental Test Pilot with Hanks. The two men have a combined 15,000 flying hours under their belts.

“Experimental test pilots are charged with flying something for the very first time,” Hanks said, adding technical test pilots are also embedded with military units in Iraq and Afghanistan to provide real-world testing.

“Airworthiness qualification tests assess the handling qualities of the aircraft and their performance in flight, while hovering or during autorotation, to name some of the situations,” Hanks said.

The ATTC is “a world-wide leader in technical testing in helicopter icing conditions,” Hanks said as Correia showed the group a video of thel testing, some with results more successful than others.

ATTC plans, tests, analyzes and reports on the developmental and airworthiness qualification of aircraft, and aviation systems and equipment throughout their lifecycle, said Hanks. “We fly nearly everything the Army owns or is thinking about buying.”