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Meeting	ACGS Committee Meeting 125 - Virtual - November 2020
Agenda Location	4 GENERAL COMMITTEE TECHNICAL SESSION 4.1 General Session 4.1.1 Mitchell Aerospace
Title	Mitchell Aerospace
Presenter	Dave Mitchell
Available Downloads*	presentation
	Downloads are available to members who are logged in and either Active* or attended this meeting.
Abstract	Update for Mitchell Aerospace Research Covid-19 disrupted teaching methods throughout the world, and the US Air Force Test Pilot School was forced to respond rapidly. Two classes of 24 students each were in session in March when Edwards AFB effectively locked down. Academic instruction was first to recover, using government-approved Zoom rooms to return to as close to normal as possible, with instructors teaching and students attending from home. Ground simulation and flight courses were halted momentarily. IT and TPS engineers acted as quickly as Covid allowed to reinstate ground simulator usage. Of course, Covid protocols required sanitizing the cockpits and all surfaces between students, but, except for the occasional Internet hiccup, the system proved very effective. Finally, procedures were developed to permit flight instruction as well. The result was that Class 19B graduated on schedule and Class 20A is currently on schedule for a December graduation. Academic instruction at USAF TPS is currently a mix of in-person and remote. Two significant, non-Covid, developments involve the variable-stability aircraft at TPS. The NF-16D VISTA is currently out of commission awaiting the installation of a new wing, then it will be used for military exercises and outfitted with new software, so it may not be available for TPS again until 2022. The Learjet and ground simulations are also going to get new hardware and software allowing cross-platform commonality, increasing their utility for flight research. One new exercise on the ground simulators is a one-hour introduction to pilot-induced oscillations (PIOs) and related test methods. Mitchell Aerospace Research is assisting in development of handling qualities test techniques for modern Urban Air Mobility designs. This contract suffered from the effects of Covid and has been down-scoped. Our on-site instruction for the International Test Pilot School in Canada has been suspended indefinitely because of travel restrictions, but other contracts have been only minimally affected.