W Startup has the air of a military operation. When the crew chief signals the area is clear, pilot Hank Griffiths starts the engine, then the clutch engages, and the propellers start turning. When Griffiths is ready to taxi, the crew chief gives the signal, ground crew pull chocks, and we taxi out to Runway 20. During a 30-year career in the U.S. Air Force, Griffiths was a test pilot for the F-16 and F-35 and director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. Now he leads a flight test team for the U.S. Air Force's Afwerx program, for which he's flown such advanced technology as the Joby S4 eVTOL and Beta Alia electric fixed-wing aircraft. Stepler recruited Griffiths and fellow pilot Jeff Stands from Wright-Patterson for the flight testing of the White Bird. As Griffiths accelerates down the runway, airspeed comes alive on the Dynon SkyView display. We climb at 55 knots and Griffiths marvels that we've reached 200 feet agl by the end of the runway; 56 AOPA PILOT / September 2024