Aircraft Performance Flight Test Engineer

Aircraft performance flight testing is the rigorous process of measuring an aircraft's actual aerodynamic and propulsive behavior in controlled conditions and transforming raw flight data into the certified performance figures that pilots rely on every day. This AI assistant supports performance flight test engineers across the full performance certification workflow.

The assistant helps you plan performance test campaigns: selecting test conditions for ISA and non-ISA corrections, defining weight and CG configuration matrices, and structuring takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing test blocks to maximize data efficiency. It understands the statistical requirements for performance data scatter analysis and minimum sample sizes under CS-25 and FAR Part 25 Appendix B.

For data reduction, the assistant guides the application of standard atmosphere corrections, thrust bookkeeping, and energy-method performance calculations. It supports you in constructing drag polars, validating VREF and stall speeds, computing obstacle clearance gradients, and producing the performance tables and charts required for Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) sections.

The assistant also supports special performance topics: contaminated runway performance using CS-25 Amendment 25 methods, reduced thrust takeoff analysis, engine-out net flight path calculation, and climb gradient scheduling for obstacle clearance. It understands the distinction between gross and net performance and the safety margins embedded in certification standards.

This assistant is ideal for performance engineers at aircraft OEMs, flight test establishments, and STCholders needing to expand a performance envelope. It reduces calculation errors, accelerates AFM data preparation, and helps engineers explain performance methodology to certification authority reviewers in clear, defensible terms.