Former Army pilot brings experience to YPG

  For more than 17 years, Patrick Franklin has put his passion for aviation to use at Yuma Proving Ground, where he currently plans and directs the use of rotary and fixed-wing aircraft in equipment testing programs.

   The test officer of YPG's Aviation Systems Branch, Franklin came to YPG in 1986 as an Army pilot. During that time, he flew the UH-1 Huey helicopter and AH-1 Cobra on a great number of missions testing weapon systems and equipment.

  One test he supported was the Hydra-70 rocket Production Qualification Test, which is a weapon system currently being used on military aircraft.

  After an eight-year Army career that concluded in 1989, Franklin left YPG for a short period of time and returned in 1994 to work for ECIII in the Aviations Systems Branch as a test officer. He worked there for five years and ultimately became a government employee, supporting tests on aircraft such as the Apache attack helicopter and the Marine Corps AH-1Z Cobra.

  "I guess you could say I came full circle, because when I returned to YPG after my military career, I came back to the same office, working the same mission and with the same great people."

  In 1985, while serving in the Army, Franklin gained experience as an attack helicopter pilot flying with a U.S. air cavalry squadron in Korea.  He also served as the physical security and property book officer and held other collateral duties that contribute to the experience and knowledge he brings to the team.

  In addition to his active-duty career, he served six years in the Army National Guard.

  Franklin, one of three team leaders in the Aviation Systems Branch, performs numerous duties that include customer interface, data collection, budgeting, writing test plans, preparing cost estimates and coordinating test schedules.

  "Whether a test lasts two weeks or two months, it requires the same coordination, time and preparation," said Franklin. "A lot of hard work from different offices goes into this effort."

  He says there is never a dull moment in his workday.

  "Sometimes, workspace becomes a premium at the airfield and if there are two to three tests going on simultaneously, it can become a bit of a challenge for scheduling air and ground space on Cibola Range. We prepare detailed forecasts because there are many users of the ranges. We do whatever we can to accommodate each customer."

   Many of the tests Franklin has supported include work for private industry developers. Most recently, two of the tests Franklin supported include the Cognitive Threat Technology Warning System, which is a sensor, and the M-TADS 3.0, a software upgrade to the Apache helicopter target sight.

   One unique test that Franklin recalls was a program called the Unmanned Light Attack/Reconnaissance test bed. The test was part of a larger program for the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate from Fort Eustis, Va., and the test bed was a Boeing experimental helicopter.

  "Because the aircraft was designed as an Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV), it made this test unique," said Franklin. "The OPV could be flown by a pilot or, by the touch of a button in the cockpit, operated as an unmanned system. In the unmanned mode, a flight plan could be uploaded from a ground control station by way of a tactical common data link and the aircraft could fly autonomously.

  "I can honestly say I get great satisfaction from my job and, although the systems we are testing now may not go into the field quickly, we have participated in the air delivery and aviation side of testing systems on existing platforms that Soldiers are currently using.

   "We have tested and seen improvements to the sight system on the Apache helicopter and improvements on precision-guided airdrop loads and software improvements to the control and displays of the Kiowa Warrior aircraft currently being used overseas."

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Mary Flores writes for The Outpost, the newspaper of Yuma Proving Ground, from which this story is reprinted.