FLIGHT TEST AS A SERVICE · SANTA MONICA (KSMO)
The rest: aircraft, modification, FAA interface, test planning, and crews. You buy flight access to flight test data, not a flight department.
ONE SHOP · ONE PROGRAM
Airborne test, data collection, and special mission support, flown from Santa Monica Airport. The aircraft, the modification, the certification, and the crews come from one place, so your program has one point of accountability and one number to call.
TC-01
Sensor test and validation, data collection, survey, and chase on instrumented aircraft. Inboard and outboard mounts, long on-station times, and fully staffed sorties: pilots, crew, ground operations, maintenance.
SORTIES · DATA · CHASE
TC-02
Engineering, structural modification, test article installation, and ground test in our own hangar. Design, fabrication, and installation in house, on experimental and standard certification paths.
MOD · FAB · INSTALL
TC-03
Test cards, flight profiles, safety planning, and the paperwork. We run the FAA interface so your program keeps moving while you stay focused on the payload.
PLANNING · CERTIFICATION
TC-04
Operator mission stations, MX-series sensor mounts, and Starlink connectivity beyond line of sight. Data comes off the aircraft in the form your team needs.
BLOS · TELEMETRY
TC-05
Airborne ISR and surrogate platform work, training support, photography, vehicle tracking, and test store carriage and release. Software and hardware testing, from datalinks to autonomy.
SURROGATE · CARRIAGE & RELEASE
TC-06
Flight test consulting from multiple test pilot school graduates. Program strategy, test approach, and instrumentation decisions before you commit an aircraft to the schedule.
ADVISORY
01
DEFINE
Objectives, data requirements, safety basis
02
MODIFY
Engineering, installation, certification
03
FLY
Crewed sorties, on-station until it is done
04
DELIVER
Your data, plus what we would test next
3 AIRCRAFT · GROWING
Three aircraft today, and the fleet is growing. Additional fixed wing and rotary wing assets are available through Fourth Front.
MULTI-SENSOR TESTBED ×1
Twin turboprop testbed with a retractable MX-20 nose mount, MX-15 belly station, dorsal satcom mount, and antenna coverage from HF through Ku band. Two 300 amp generators feed the 28 volt mission bus, an operator station runs the sensors, and Starlink moves data beyond line of sight.
OPTIONALLY PILOTED TESTBED ×2
A pair of optionally piloted testbeds with shape characteristics similar to a delta wing UAS. Sensor payloads up to 15 inches in diameter through the belly aperture (an MX-10 in the photo), dual wing pylons, an EM transparent roof, a high capacity aft equipment bay, and a 28 volt mission bus. Flies piloted or fully autonomous, and dismantles for containerized relocation.
JOINT EXERCISE · WESTERN PACIFIC
Chase, safety, photography, comms relay, and surrogate work. We deployed the King Air across the Pacific, operated from an island field, and flew alongside the uncrewed participants for the duration of the exercise.
The aircraft below is not ours. The mission profile is.
THE SHORT VERSION
THE FOUNDER
Greg Wellman is a US Army experimental test pilot with an aerospace engineering degree from MIT, a masters from Georgia Tech, and an MBA from Wharton. The person who plans your program also flies it.
THE CREWS
Multiple test pilot school graduates on staff. Aircrew include experienced military tactical and flight test operators, and every sortie is fully staffed: pilots, crew, ground operations, and maintenance.
THE HANGAR
We share Hangar 1 at KSMO with the Fourth Front Aviation maintenance shop. A finding becomes a modification and the aircraft is back on test in hours, not weeks.
fourth-front.com →THE PAPERWORK
A Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business under Fourth Front Aviation, Inc. Registered and ready for federal work.
CAGE 14JC3UEI N1LWPMBPMC96
OUR RAMPS · OUR SORTIES
We photograph our own aircraft. Customer hardware stays out of frame and off the internet.
LEADS BY EMAIL · READ BY THE FOUNDER
Tell us what you need to learn, what it weighs, and when you need to fly. We will come back with an approach, a schedule, and a number.