This paper uses experiences from the initial P-8A Poseidon Aerial Refueling (AR) flight test certification to answer an important question for testers: How to get from "you don't know what you don't know," to safely and effectively executing flight test? P-8A Poseidon AR flight test, conducted from 8 April to 2 June 2016 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, was the first U.S. Air Force-style boom receiver flight test certification performed by the U.S. Navy since 1988, as well as the first large-scale government-led P-8A test project. The test team was focused on the singular goal of providing a new, transformative force-multiplying capability to the U.S. Navy's Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aviation community, but encountered significant challenges including: test pilots with minimal formation flight background, engineers without an operational AR background, coordination with numerous stakeholders, poorly defined P-8A flight manual AR procedures, and a truncated test schedule timeline. Actions taken to overcome those challenges, and subsequent outcomes, are summarized here to enable testers planning their own AR flight test programs to position themselves for success. Some of the keys actions were: ensuring that test pilots received sufficient surrogate AR receiver training, providing flight test engineers with exposure to tanker operations, securing support from parent organizations, and building a strong sense of camaraderie among the test team. The lessons learned in the process transcend AR flight test and are applicable to any team planning a complex, high visibility test project on an unfamiliar capability with numerous stakeholders on a short timeline. This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited; U.S. Government endorsement is not implied.
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