Squadron Leader Keith Bartlett, DSD, Royal New Zealand Air Force
Squadron Leader Keith Bartlett was posted to the Orion P-3 Systems Upgrade Project in Greenville, Texas in 2008, replacing a more experienced pilot who had become unavailable at short notice for the flight test phase of the project. At the time of posting, he had no time to qualify as an Orion Qualified Flight Instructor. His deployment was continually extended due to unforeseen aircraft flight performance deficiencies. These faults required flight testing well beyond the scope, complexity and duration of the original flight test programme. With no formal training and minimal preparation, he was also required to develop and verify flight deck instrumentation and automation procedures, train the flight deck crew and manage systems engineers and operators conducting mission systems integration testing on-board the modified P-3K2 aircraft. These were development testing events that a senior Qualified Flight Instructor would be unlikely to encounter during the entire span of a career. Squadron Leader Bartlett's contribution was instrumental to the successful completion of the P-3K2 aircraft project.