Lockheed Martin Test Pilot Receives Flight Test Safety Award

OWEGO, NY.- A Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] helicopter test pilot has received a major flight test safety award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP).

Jerry “Mac” McCawley, 46, a flight safety engineer and test pilot at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY, received the Tony LeVier Flight Test Safety Award during the SETP’s annual banquet, September 26, in Anaheim, CA.

The Tony LeVier award formally recognizes an individual who has made a significant flight test safety contribution to a specific program, organization or the flight test profession. The award is named for the late Lockheed test pilot who was instrumental in proving the P-38 Lightning design and who flew the first flights of the P-80 Shooting Star, the XF-104 Starfighter, and the U-2.

“During nearly five years at our Owego facility, Mac has been instrumental in flight testing mission systems developed and integrated aboard U.S. military helicopters,” said Jeff Bantle, vice president of Rotary Wing Programs at the Systems Integration – Owego facility. “Mac’s leadership style has proven to be highly effective in promoting a safe working environment in a rigorous flight test environment. We have benefitted enormously from his sound judgment and the practices he has instilled across our flight test operations.”

McCawley routinely flies with U.S. Navy aircrew based at the Owego facility when testing the sophisticated avionics and mission systems aboard new Sikorsky-built MH-60R and MH-60S multimission helicopters. Integration of on-board systems enables the helicopters to efficiently protect the U.S. Navy fleet from submarine and surface threats.

As the chief test pilot for the Unmanned K-MAX cargo lift helicopter, McCawley tests new subsystems that will enable the aircraft to fly without a pilot. Lockheed Martin is working with K-MAX® helicopter manufacturer Kaman Aerospace to transform the manned aircraft — used extensively by the logging industry — into an Unmanned Aerial System that can carry supplies to troops on the battlefield. Lockheed Martin and Kaman will demonstrate the Unmanned K-MAX to the U.S. Marine Corps later this year.

McCawley also flies test missions aboard Lockheed Martin’s UH-1H helicopter. The flight test helicopter is used extensively to put systems through their paces in an airborne environment when they emerge from the development laboratory.

Besides his flight achievements, the SETP also cited McCawley’s safety achievements with ground operations. He led the expanded use of safety gear, such as fall protection devices, used by the maintainers and test teams in the helicopter integration facility. These new procedures have enabled Lockheed Martin Systems Integration – Owego to meet all OSHA and site safety requirements without hindering workload performance.

McCawley graduated U.S. Army flight school in 1983, and for the next seven years flew the AH-64 Apache and AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter as well as the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter. In 1989, he graduated from the U.S. Air Force flight school, and later qualified as an accident investigator and flight safety officer. During the next 15 years, he was a mission commander, standardization and evaluation pilot, instructor pilot, flight lead, as well as the F-15E Strike Eagle flight demonstration pilot.

In the Air Force, he flew more than 200 combat missions in Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom in the F-15C and F-15E fighter aircraft. He saw additional combat while attached to the 10th Mountain Division as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) in Somalia and Haiti.

Born and raised in Scranton, PA, McCawley lives in Clifford, PA with his wife Cyndi. They have two daughters, Lauren and Jaclyn. He is a member of the Society of Flight Test Engineers (SFTE), and an associate member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP).

“I’m very honored to receive the Tony LeVier award,” said McCawley. “The recognition reflects the achievements of the entire team I work with here at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration – Owego.”

Lockheed Martin Systems Integration – Owego is the rotary wing center of excellence for Lockheed Martin Corporation. The company has more than 35 years of experience as a leading mission systems integrator of maritime helicopters, including the British Royal Navy’s Merlin Mk 1 helicopter fleet, and two generations of U.S. Navy helicopters, the SH-60B and the MH-60R.