Aircraft Information
Aircraft Make: Avions de Transport Regional (ATR)
Aircraft Model: 42
Aircraft Nickname: anybody know it?
Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane ME Turboprop
Category: Airplane
Class: Multi Engine Land
Engine Description: Twin Engine

First Flown Information
Sequence First Flown: 0
Date First Flown: 01/15/2004
Location First Flown: KICT, Wichita, Kansas
Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: WWAS company, STC cargo project

Aircraft Experience
As of: 05/09/2020
Number of Hours Flown: 3
Number of Times Flown: 1
Other Aircraft Models Associated:

Recollections: Maybe my first flight in a French airplane? This was a cargo conversion project, smoke penetration and detection. My only memory of the flight was thinking how unusual and foreign the cockpit seemed to me (remember, I was just a few years out of the military). Since then I’ve seen other French-designed aircraft and come to recognize the beauty and consistency of the design.

Aircraft Information
Aircraft Make: Grumman
Aircraft Model: G-21G
Aircraft Nickname: Turbine Goose
Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane ME Turboprop
Category: Airplane
Class: Multi Engine Sea
Engine Description: Twin Engine

First Flown Information
Sequence First Flown: 0
Date First Flown: 09/20/2005
Location First Flown: KHIO Hillsborough, Oregon
Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Larry (owner)

Aircraft Experience
As of: 05/09/2020
Number of Hours Flown: 4
Number of Times Flown: 1
Other Aircraft Models Associated:

Recollections:

–It was a “pinch me” moment. I had just transferred from the FAA flight test office in Wichita, Kansas to it’s sister organization in Seattle, Washington. My new boss Tom (who, though he was new as my boss, I’d known since I was a student at Test Pilot School) called me on the phone to say “I have a favor to ask you…a project I’d like to see if you’ll do for me.” Being “the new guy”, I braced for a “deal I can’t refuse”. Then Tom says “There’s a turbine goose that has a new cockpit and electrical system that we need to certify, it’s down in Oregon, can you do it?” I held the phone away from my face, gazed at the phone with a combination of amazement and confusion, and after what seemed like a long time (with Tom saying “Bob…can you hear me?”) I answered “YES!”.
–Flight Test always involves a lot of preparation–test plans and the like–but this time the prep was easy as I was totally excited to go fly.
–The cockpit was somewhat cramped but the airplane was easy to fly (no, I didn’t do any water landings…it just wasn’t required within the scope of my testing) and I was totally impressed by the care which the owner gave to this airplane. Thanks, Tom!!

Aircraft Information
Aircraft Make: Grumman
Aircraft Model: E-2C
Aircraft Nickname: Hawkeye
Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane ME Turboprop
Category: Airplane
Class: Multi Engine Land
Engine Description: Twin Engine

First Flown Information
Sequence First Flown: 0
Date First Flown: 06/02/1988
Location First Flown: NAS Patuxent River, MD
Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Force Warfare, Trudell

Aircraft Experience
As of: 05/09/2020
Number of Hours Flown: 4
Number of Times Flown: 2
Other Aircraft Models Associated:

Recollections:

–Hmmmm….what I remember most about my first flight was how poor–compared to what I had in my trusty P-3–the “Situational Awareness” (SA) was for the pilots up front. My memory was that they were almost wholly dependent on the operators in the back for instructions and information, all passed verbally. But, it was a prop, so it was fun to fly.
–I flew it one more time…this time 3 days into Desert Storm when I conned myself a ride. This experience reaffirmed my impression that the airplane needed a “TAC display” big-time but I also was simply amazed at the skill of the pilots (and the NFO’s) keeping track of a myriad of comm nets. I couldn’t keep track of 2 and I think they were talking to 3 or 4 at the same time.