Scott agencies join to test new airframe

by Bekah Clark
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

6/18/2010 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- More than 20 Airmen from Scott Air Force Base continued production qualification testing on the C-27J Spartan here June 8 and 9.

The C-27J was originally an Army development program until April 2009 when Defense Secretary Robert Gates shifted the program to the Air Force. As such, Air Force-specific procedures for how to operate the aircraft must be created, which is where these tests came in.

The C-27J boasts shorter landing and takeoff capabilities which allows the airframe to fly into austere areas that do not have the necessary infrastructure to handle the Air Force's larger aircraft. The airframe will significantly enhance the Air Force's capabilities to evacuate wounded servicemembers out of dangerous environments.

It was these aeromedical evacuation capabilities that were tested at Scott AFB last week - namely the capability to quickly and safely evacuate ambulatory and littered patients in the event of an emergency.

During the tests, aeromedical evacuation members performed timed evacuations of all patients and aircrew through all doors, including one of the emergency escape hatches on the top of the airframe.

The tests were a precursor to the Multi-Service Operational Test and Evaluation which will take place later this summer. The MOT&E determines the capabilities of the airframe in an operational environment.

"We gathered data so aeromedical evacuation training regulations and operating instructions for the aircraft can be written," said Master Sgt. Michael Baker, a test director from the Air Mobility Command Test and Evaluation Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

Once the results of the observation have been recorded, "those publications will be standardized for use by aeromedical evacuation crews Air Force wide, when they evacuate patients on the C-27J," he said.

An electromagnetic interference evaluation of the aeromedical evacuation equipment was also performed to ensure its operation does not interfere with any aircraft equipment, said John Rehkop, a member of the AMC Test and Evaluation office.

"At the conclusion of this effort, the Army will determine if the system is airworthy in preparation for the MOT&E," he said.

During the MOT&E, operational aeromedical evacuation aircrew will configure the aircraft for an aeromedical evacuation mission and fly it in an operationally realistic environment.

Though this testing went late into the night June 8, the long day was well worth it, said Capt. John Camacho, a 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight nurse instructor and test participant.

"It was a lot of work, but at the end of the day, it's an important effort to help make sure that our wounded warriors get the help they need when they need it and bring them back home," he said.

This is the second time Scott AFB members have assisted in tests for the C-27J.

In late February, aeromedical evacuation technicians went through several patient-carrying configurations on the aircraft to optimize patient-carrying capabilities.

Four configurations of passenger seating and litters were developed as a result of these tests.

The airframe's shorter landing and takeoff capabilities will also enable supplies to be delivered closer to their destination point, saving lives of warfighters by reducing the need for ground convoys in dangerous areas.