On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 11:12:06 -0700, Hobo wrote:

What is the purpose of "chase planes" that are always involved with the
testing of every new aircraft design?

There are two kinds of chase planes: safety and photo.

Safety chase is there for safety of flight--the chase pilot takes the
radio calls, watches for traffic, makes sure they stay inside the
restricted area, keeps an eye out for fluids leaks or parts falling
off, acts as a pacer aircraft to be sure the CADS is working about
right, looks for anomalies like flutter or buffet, and, if required,
acts as RESCAP.

Photo chase carries the photographer or videographer, obviously. The
photo chase pilot will also be a safety chase.

At Dryden, research aircraft have to have a safety chase at all times,
except in the landing pattern. On long flights, we could use the EDW
tanker crew as an interim safety chase while we swapped safety chases,
ensuring that the research vehicle was never flying all by itself, out
of everyone's view.

Mary

--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer