Happy to answer your questions. > I found the wood block setup for checking clearance to be pretty interesting. So they're not afraid of broken wood causing further damage to other components like rotor blades or engines due to ingestion? In general, does the rotor blade design limit clearances of rotors or does the flight envelope? Seems to me the latter. - They are balsa wood so they are relatively light and are not a factor if they impact the rotor blades. They are positioned to negate any the possibility of being ingested in the engines. The rotor clearance is typically designed into the helicopter. You don't want to design a helicopter that the pilot can destroy with big control inputs. But its designed with a flight envelope in mind, and as long as you stay within the envelope its not a problem. Typically for heavy turbine helicopters blade clearance isnt an issue with maneuvers but with light helicopters it can be. The R22 is a 2 place light piston training helicopter and because of its rotorhead design (Its a teetering rotorhead, essentially the helicopter hangs freely from the head) if you do a aggressive forward cyclic input or you dump the collective you can get into a low or zero g state. essentially the rotor is no longer stable when its unloaded and it will precess like a gyroscope and impact the air frame or separate from the helicopter. This is a major danger of the R22 and the FAA requires pilots to get training to avoid this before flying an R22/R44/R66. > How did you get this job of flight test engineer? For example, did you, from you undergraduate degree or free time, obtain experience with aircraft, data acquisition, etc. so that Sikorsky was particularly interested in you, or did you just express a great interest in the field of test engineering? Did you do research as an undergraduate student? It appears that Penn State has a Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence, so that would make an engineering student from Penn State pretty attractive for helicopter research and testing. -Well I always wanted to be a test pilot. When I was in college I got selected to fly in the Navy which is a path to becoming a test pilot. I decided against it and am pursing test pilot school through the Air National Guard and building flight test experience as an FTE. I've always been a pilot and have been interested in flight test and got hired on at Sikorsky. I did do research with Penn State but it was in chemistry. Penn State is a focus school for Sikorsky. They target them for recruiting. > Did you get your various type ratings while working for Sikorsky through a specific program or do you do recreational flying? I can't imagine that Sikorsky would help you get certified for weight shift control or glider flight, but who knows. Oh and also, does having a desire to fly and earn type ratings appeal to Sikorsky or other companies when seeking employment as a flight test engineer or other related jobs? For instance, I don't have a private pilot's license, but I know a good bit about how to fly an airplane and have a little experience flying, working around airplanes, and in the future I plan to obtain my private. In your opinion, should I put that on my resume/cover letter? I don't fly through Sikorsky other than flight test. Typically you need 1500 hour total time and 500 turbine to be in a position to work as a test pilot and that's why I'm working through my flight ratings to build time. Being a pilot or having flight experience is a big plus for getting a job as an FTE, especially one that acts as a crew member. 50% of the FTE's in my office have their pilots license. I would put it in your cover letter, wouldn't hurt. > How many different projects will your team work on simultaneously? - 10 or 15 > Being a fluid mechanics research student, I have a decent amount of data acquisition and analysis experience. Can you recommend any other programs/companies that, from your experience or from what you've heard, have good programs/opportunities for flight engineering and testing? Sikorsky is definitely on the list! -NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin , Northrup Grumman, NAVAIR, and Air Force Material Command. > When you write test reports, who are you reporting to? The engineering department? -Either Sikorsky internal or the customer > In reference to the data acquisition hardware and systems, do you use a computer and operating system to monitor data inputs and sensors or is it kind of a "set and go" type of system? From the image you showed, all that was there was hardware, i. e. no screens, keyboards, etc. -It depends on the flight. I have two flights tomorrow. On the first flight the pilots will have to turn the system on to record data prior to each maneuver. On the second flight the system will be set up to take data continuously by itself and I will watch the data on board with a lightweight laptop to make sure we don't exceed any limits. > How can I come work for/with you? :-) https://jobs.sikorsky.com/search-jobs/Florida?orgIds=1736&alp=6252001-4155751&alt=3 > How do you like living in West Palm Beach, FL? It's nice. A little hot. Good flying weather. If there is anything else I can answer let me know ---------------- How early did you get involved in flight testing? Do you have a background in other areas, or did you get straight into it? It seems like a fairly advanced division, so I would think it is pretty exclusive. - No real background in it. Just a desire to be a test pilot and this is a stepping stone on the path. Having a good general knowledge of flying and some flight time is a big plus. 50% of the flight test engineers in my office are pilots themselves. About what percentage of you work is actual flight observation? I know that planning and data processing takes up a majority of the work, but how much is it exactly? - 80% of the time is planning or reporting. 20% is briefing flights, conducting tests, and flying on-board. Depends on what group you are in. Could be more or less. Finally, what courses or special skills would you recommend I look into? From what I know, most companies use specific software that each company has a long history with, so I’m not planning on becoming a software expert before I graduate, but what would you say the most important skill/tool is that you use regularly? - Id say having a pretty solid background knowledge in programming. C++, Python, even matlab. If you are interested in helicopter flight test then a course in vibrations is certainly helpful (ME/AEM 570) and this course (AC Systems) is helpful because it gives you a good overview.