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Testing Talk
tarting up a company is something
that many people do every day. But
few company founders get to fulfil
their vision for that company.
Just a week after announcing a major contract win
with Rolls-Royce, Lee Human, AeroTEC’s founder and
president, is an entrepreneur relishing the realization of
his vision for the company. Founded 16 years ago to
supply flight test services with just four employees, the
Seattle, Washington-based firm has grown to have a
200-strong workforce of engineers and technicians. The
company’s clients come from across the world to tap into
its knowledge and capabilities within aerospace
development and testing.
The multi-million Rolls-Royce deal will see AeroTEC
convert a retired Qantas 747-400 into a flying testbed for
the engine manufacturer. Rolls-Royce will use it to test
the next generation of its more powerful, more efficient
1
runs a modified 747-SP. “This job was out
for tender and we won – technically and
on cost,” Human says triumphantly.
DE-QANTASIZING
The 747, which has been purchased
outright by Rolls-Royce, was delivered to
AeroTEC’s flight test center in Moses
Lake early in October. The first task in
the two-year schedule of work is to
“deQantasize” the aircraft – remove the
livery and insignias of the previous
owner. Engineers are also removing most
of the interior of the aircraft.
Around 80% of the subsequent
changes will be “under the skin” of the
aircraft. Human says, “We will be
installing extensive systems for fuel
DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
LEE HUMAN CV
AeroTEC’s founder and president is a
graduate of the University of Massachusetts
Amherst College of Engineering. He
has earned credentials as an FAA DER
(designated engineering representative),
and a private multi-engine instrument
pilot’s license. Prior to starting AeroTEC in
2003, Human held the position of flight test
manager at Aviation Partners Boeing (APB),
a joint venture with the Boeing Company.
Prior to APB, he was a lead engineer at
Aircraft Engineering Specialists (AES).
Human has been personally involved in
the testing, engineering, and certification of
over 50 major aerospace projects.
He is married with three children and lives
on Mercer Island, Washington. In his free
time, Lee enjoys boating the waters of Puget
Sound with family and friends.
and more connected engines. Regardless of if AeroTEC
wins the follow-on business to operate the aircraft, the
deal is massive for the company and is enabling
significant expansion at its Moses Lake headquarters.
Human describes the win as validating for the
business: “We have built an organization with all of
these capabilities, from initial preliminary engineering
through to manufacturing, ground testing, taxi-testing,
full-scale flight test to envelope expansion testing. This
program is perfectly aligned with what we are as a
company and we will be able to leverage all of our skills
across it.
The Rolls-Royce job is the first time AeroTEC has
been the prime contractor for a flying testbed program.
The rival company that was in the running at the end of
the tender is one of the biggest companies in the USA.
“We are on the world-stage for this type of aircraft now,”
says Human. “It opens the door to other projects in the
large-scale flying testbed business.”
Only a few other companies in the world have the
type of experience necessary to modify and operate
large passenger aircraft in the way this contract
requires. GE Aviation runs a testbed modified from a
747-400 in Victorville, California and Pratt and Whitney
specifically for each engine – so the
aircraft can test both fuselage-mount or
wing-mount engines for example.
On the underside of one of the wings
more hardpoints are being installed. The
number two engine position is for testing
larger commercial passenger aircraft
engines. “The testbed is designed to be
reconfigurable,” says Human. “GE can
only test engines mounted on the wing,
and Pratt and Whitney can only tests
engines mounted on the side of the
fuselage. We can do both.”
The first application for the testbed
has not been officially announced yet by
Rolls-Royce, but the capability to be
reconfigured will also make the testbed
suitable for other programs, such as Trent
series engines, in the future.
TIME AND MONEY
The 747’s modification work breaks down
to annual sections. The engineering work
to produce the drawings and get it
management, electrical power systems
and load bank systems that can fully load
the generators on the test engine.
“There will be hydraulic systems so
we can fully test and fully load the
hydraulics on the test engines and
simulate various loads. There will be
instrumentation and monitoring systems
installed on the test engine capable of
making thousands of measurements, as
well as instrumentation and monitoring
on the airframe.
“There will be racks and racks of
engineering work stations in the main
cabin.”
The airplane is going to be a “generic”
test bed – it will use a single data
acquisition system and different engines
will be bolted on at two different points
on the aircraft. On the side of the aircraft
hard points are being installed so
different stub wings, capable of carrying
different business jet-size engines, can be
fitted. Each stub wing will be made
1 // The Qantas 747 arrived
at Moses Lake, USA in
October and is now under
AeroTEC’s care, custody
and control
2 // AeroTEC’s Flight Test
Center is being expanded to
facilitate the operation the
Rolls-Royce flying testbed
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