David
G. Mitchell, Mitchell Aerospace Research
Phone: 562-256-7056
Email:
dave(at)hqresearch.com
Dave
founded Mitchell Aerospace Research in March 2011
In
his professional career of nearly forty years, Mr. Mitchell has been a
contributor to the development of flying and handling qualities requirements
for every type of air vehicle. He is a co-author of the report that became the
Air Force’s Military Standard for Flying Qualities of Piloted Aircraft
(MIL-STD-1797A), of the Army’s Military Standard for Rotorcraft Flying
Qualities (ADS-33E-PRF), and of a proposed revision for the V/STOL Flying
Qualities specification (MIL-F-83300).
Academic
Background
Bachelor of Science
in Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, 1977
Master
of Science in Aerospace Engineering,
Employment
History
February 2011 –
Present: Mitchell Aerospace
Research. Mr.
Mitchell is an academic instructor in the Flying Qualities Phase at the USAF
Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California. Currently, TPS students go through
an 11-month program, with four months dedicated to the FQ Phase. This Phase is
constantly undergoing modernization, with the introduction of advanced flight
control methods, new analytical capabilities, and applications for Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
He
is a Subject Matter Expert for the US Navy for handling qualities and flight
control systems evaluations of the V-22 and CH-53K aircraft.
Mr.
Mitchell is working with Systems Technology, Inc., to develop flying qualities
requirements for UAVs, and new head-up display (HUD) guidance for US Navy
F-18s.
December 2012 –
Present: International Test Pilot School Canada (http://www.itpscanada.com/). Mr. Mitchell
is on the academic staff at ITPS, teaching advanced flight control systems and
handling qualities.
September 1993 –
February 2011: Technical Director, Hoh
Aeronautics, Inc. Mr.
Mitchell was the Principal Investigator for a Phase II.5 SBIR with NAVAIR to
develop an application package for ADS-33E-PRF.
ASAP, the ADS-33 Specification Application Package, assists the user in
determining the necessary data and processing the data for the application of
ADS-33E-PRF. A significant portion of
the SBIR effort has been dedicated to development of handling qualities
requirements for maritime and cargo rotorcraft.
In
addition, Mr. Mitchell was the Principal Investigator on a Phase III SBIR from
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center to apply a PIO detection method to impaired
aircraft. This research program included
flight research performed by students and staff at the Air Force Test Pilot
School, requiring Mr. Mitchell’s active participation in all aspects of
planning, conduct, and analysis. He was
Principal Investigator on a NASA Research Announcement sponsored by Ames
Research Center to define acceptable levels of time-varying high-order dynamics
in rotorcraft.
Since
1999, Mr. Mitchell has been actively supporting NAVAIR on flying qualities and
flight control development for the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. He has participated in numerous simulations
and flight test programs to investigate susceptibility to pilot-induced
oscillations, to expand the Osprey’s flight envelope, and to determine the
flying qualities of the aircraft following flight control system failures. In 2002 he presented a four-day short course
on “Highly Augmented Airplane Flying Qualities” at the Naval Air Station
Patuxent River, Maryland. Since 2007 Mr.
Mitchell has also been supporting NAVAIR’s acquisition process for the new
Sikorsky CH-53K helicopter, reviewing the flight controls and flying qualities
portions of the acquisition.
Mr.
Mitchell has developed pilot-induced oscillation (PIO) criteria and handling
qualities demonstration maneuvers for the Air Force and NASA. A report for the U.S. Air Force, Development of Methods and Devices to
Predict and Prevent Pilot-Induced Oscillations, is considered by engineers
of the Federal Aviation Administration to be a “must-read” on the subject. He has also contributed to the development of
flight director laws for a head-up display for a private company, and criteria
for rotorcraft handling qualities under Army sponsorship. Through a series of contracts from Boeing
Phantom Works, he has made technical contributions to the definition of
handling qualities requirements for the NASA-sponsored High Speed Research
aircraft. He has also assisted in the
analysis of research data from flight and ground simulation studies of the
flying qualities of large subsonic transports. He has been a contributor to numerous
technical management programs conducted by the US Air Force Test Pilot School,
including HAVE CAP, HAVE LIMITS, HAVE GAS II, HAVE RECKON, HAVE OLOP, HAVE
ROVER, and Project Icarus.
1987 – 2008: Lecturer,
April 1977 –
September 1993: Principal Specialist, Systems Technology, Inc. Mr.
Mitchell was Project Engineer on Government-sponsored contracts to support
research and development of military flying qualities requirements for
helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes, and on a contract with a major airframe
manufacturer to evaluate the susceptibility of a modern military transport to
pilot-induced oscillations. Other assignments included duties as Project
Engineer on a NASA-sponsored evaluation of the impact of cockpit feel system
characteristics on flying qualities and pilot dynamics; on an Air Force study
investigating the effects of simultaneous degradations of aircraft handling
qualities in multiple axes; and on a NASA project defining the requirements for
a task-tailored flight control system for the approach and landing of advanced
transport aircraft.
July 1973 – April 1976:
Engineering Trainee, Co-Op Work-Study Program, NASA Dryden Flight
Research Center.
During his undergraduate years, Mr. Mitchell was employed six months per
year by NASA Flight Research Center (later Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research
Center) in a work-study program.
Short Course Instructor:
May 2002 – Highly Augmented Airplane Flying Qualities
(
Pilot-Induced
Oscillations (co-instructor with Dave Klyde, STI):
April 2003 – Boeing Integrated
Defense Systems, Long Beach, CA
February 2004 – Naval
Air Systems Command, NAS Patuxent River, MD
March 2004 – Boeing
Integrated Defense Systems, Philadelphia, PA
December 2004 –
Edwards AFB, CA
July 2005 – Edwards
AFB, CA
August 2005 – Bell
Helicopter Textron, Inc., Arlington, TX
September 2005 –
Sikorsky Aircraft Co., Stratford, CT
December 2009 – NASA
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA
May 2011 – Naval Air
Systems Command, NAS Patuxent River, MD
October 2014 –
Embraer, São José dos Campos, Brazil
November – December
2009: Advances in Flying Qualities (Northrop Grumman, El Segundo, CA)
Affiliations
Associate
Fellow and 40-Year Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(AIAA)
Past
member (1987-1990, 1999-2009) and Chair (2007-2009), AIAA Atmospheric Flight
Mechanics Technical Committee; Chair of Subcommittees on Handling Qualities
(1988-1990, 2002-2006) and Education (2003-2006)
Technical
Chair, 1990 AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference
Member,
AIAA Professional Member Education Committee (2005-2014); Chair (2012-2014)
Member,
Aerospace Industry Action Council, Cal Poly Pomona (1994- ); Chair (1994-1998)
Member
of Planning Advisory Board, Aerospace Control & Guidance Systems Committee
Member of Society of
Automotive Engineers, American Helicopter Society, American Association for the
Advancement of Science
Assistant
Scoutmaster, Past Troop Committee Chair and Scoutmaster, Boy Scouts of America
Troop 65, Long Beach, CA; served on National Jamboree Staff in 2010; inducted
Honorary Tribesman, Tribe of Tahquitz, Long Beach, CA, 2010; Polaris District
Commissioner (2012-2014) and District Chair (2014- ), Long Beach Area Council
Awards
Boy Scouts of America
Silver Beaver Award, 2014
AIAA Sustained
Service Award, 2011
AIAA Atmospheric
Flight Mechanics Technical Committee Certificate of Merit, Most Influential
Paper of the 1980’s, 2013
AIAA Atmospheric
Flight Mechanics Conference Certificate of Recognition, Outstanding Paper, 2006
NASA Group
Achievement Award, High Alpha Technology Program ANSER Project Team, 1997
McDonnell Douglas
Employee Recognition Program Achievement Award, HSR Aerodynamic Performance,
1997
The Technical
Cooperation Program Achievement Award, Development of Aeronautical Design
Standard, 1995
NASA Flight Research Center Group
Achievement Award, Lightweight Fighter Fly-Off Evaluation, 1975