After 18 years in the UK Royal Air Force, Phill O'Dell is now chief test pilot and head of flying at Rolls-Royce. He explains how he fell in love with aviation as a teenager and describes his route to his current position
How did you get into aviation? My interest started as a teenager, when I used to cycle down to Hurn airport in Bournemouth and watch the ‘planes – although I didn't take down the numbers! I was very lucky that my father saw my passion and paid for lessons, and I first flew solo on my 17th birthday. I fell in love with aviation, so the RAF was a natural choice.
What does your job involve? During preparations towards the first flight of our new civil and military engines I became involved with the detailed technical aspects concerning operation and performance expectations to be explored in flight. I participate in the test flying, which is intentionally designed to cover regions beyond expected service use, ensuring we surpass operational requirements. Before joining Rolls-Royce I was relying on previous company test pilots to do a good job, which they obviously did! I now feel honoured to be on the other side of the fence contributing to both civil and military projects.
What skills do you need? You need to be a good communicator and a good team player. I am surrounded by a multi-disciplined team of talented individuals, so you need to be able to interpret detailed flight information that can be understood and used, together with the considerable data gathered, to identify and make any necessary changes. To do this effectively a test pilot needs to be familiar with more of the background and technical detail than is generally needed by an operational pilot.
What is your advice to those who want to get a similar job? To be determined and never give up on your dream! The majority of test pilots are recruited from air forces. Worldwide there are only four recognised test pilot schools, so the majority of test pilots have been through one of those. You go through an interview process where you demonstrate a theoretical knowledge of flying, aerodynamics and current aviation issues. Above all, the reason I succeeded was my passion for flying. However, I was certainly motivated by a desire to have the opportunity to contribute to and shape the future of flying.
What is the highlight of your career? Testing the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk951, the engine for the latest-generation Hawk. It started two years ago and we complete testing this year. It has a unique and very sophisticated FADEC (full-authority digital engine control) that incorporates surge detection and recovery logic. To test it you have to deliberately surge the engine, which was extremely difficult and required us to fly some incredibly extreme manoeuvres. It was the most rewarding flying I have ever done.
* flight.workingweek@rbi.co.uk
Source: Flight International