For Noopur Joshi, the best part of her job is getting up close to the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter.
You get to drive in and see the aircraft flying outside. There is nothing more motivating and inspiring than that. Right now, I sit in the hanger so I can look outside of the office area and see the aircraft sitting right there. I get to be hands-on with it, and there is no better experience than that.
My path to becoming a full-time flight test engineer at Lockheed Martin began with two engineering internships, one of which was on the CH-53K program.
Witnessing the first flight of the CH-53K helicopter when I started full-time just out of college in 2015 was an inspiring experience. I wanted to be part of the team delivering this all-new, heavy lift helicopter to the U.S. Marine Corps.
My biggest motivation is to make sure that we get a safe aircraft out there to our Marines as quickly as possible.
As a flight test engineer, my job is to perform a series of tests to evaluate the aircraft’s propulsion systems. This is a critical step to ensuring the aircraft meets the customer’s specified mission requirements.
On this program, you learn a whole new set of skills such as working efficiently in such a fast-paced environment and working with people from many different entities to resolve issues. I have had so many unique opportunities with this aircraft; it's top-of-the-line technology. There are so many different aspects to learn about the CH-53K.
In 2017, the CH-53K flight test program was transitioning from West Palm Beach to the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River in Maryland. I made the decision to follow the test aircrafts and program to support its transition to Patuxent River and its development.
I took it because I knew there was opportunity for diverse experience with a program this large. Moving was worth the opportunity to be a part of an incredibly exciting test program, to work with an amazingly capable test team and to learn many different skills that can be applied to any future assignments.
My job as a flight test engineer requires communication with my Sikorsky team as well as many different entities within the customer base. This was a challenge for me because I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous when I began presenting to groups beyond the integrated flight test team. Through practice I gained confidence, which allowed me to overcome my stage fright and build relationships with customers and my CH-53K program colleagues.
Being on this program has been a priceless opportunity to expand my skills and gain experience and knowledge.
In terms of career growth, I eventually want to be a technical expert in my field, and the only way to do that is to get as much focused experience in the field as possible. I’m getting a valuable, unique experience on the 53K program, so I think being on this program will allow me to meet my goals.
For now, I’m happy to be just steps from the King Stallion.
Any time there is a challenge to resolve, I get to go out to the aircraft even if I don’t really need to be there. I just go out there to stare at it. Sometimes things just click when you are looking at this incredible aircraft.