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Test pilots are aviators who fly new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated.

Francis Evans (USMC), explored the best way to recover from spins, 1917
Francis Evans (USMC), explored the best way to recover from spins, 1917

Test pilots may work for military organizations or private, (mostly aerospace) companies. Francis T Evans Sr was born in Delaware Ohio on June 3, 1886. A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking This article is about the field of research and industry for the corporation see The Aerospace Corporation Aerospace comprises the Generally a company is a form of Business organization. The precise definition varies Testing military aircraft, in particular, is regarded as the most challenging and risky flying conducted in peacetime, and is therefore the pinnacle of military aviation. Risks for test pilots have decreased substantially since the 1960s. In the 1950s, test pilots were being killed at the rate of about one a week, but the risks have shrunk to a fraction of that, thanks to the maturation of aircraft technology, better ground-testing and simulation of aircraft performance, and, lately, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to test experimental aircraft features. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV is an unpiloted Aircraft. UAVs can be remote controlled or fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic Still, piloting experimental aircraft remains more dangerous than most other types of flying.

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Qualifications

A test pilot must be able to:

Test pilots must have an excellent knowledge of aeronautical engineering, in order to understand how they are tested and why. Aerospace engineering is the branch of Engineering behind the design construction and science of Aircraft and Spacecraft. Test pilots must be above average pilots with excellent analytical skills and the ability to fly accurately whilst following a flight plan. Thrill-seeking sky-jocks are often not best suited for the job, though this did not stop many of the American pilots during the 1950s, who later became astronauts. An astronaut or cosmonaut (космона́вт) is a person trained Despite their image as fun-loving dare-devils, their flying had to be ruthlessly precise and professional.

History

Test flying as a systematic activity started during the First World War, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in the United Kingdom. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE England, was a British research establishment latterly under the UK Ministry of Defence The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located During the 1920s, test flying was further developed by the RAE in the UK, and by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In the 1950s, NACA was transformed into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program During these years, as work was done into aircraft stability and handling qualities, test flying evolved towards a more qualitative scientific profession.

The world's oldest test pilot school is what is now called the Empire Test Pilots' School, at RAF Boscombe Down in the UK. The Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS is a training establishment based at MOD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. MoD Boscombe Down is an aircraft testing site located south of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. In America, the United States Air Force Test Pilot School is located at Edwards Air Force Base, the United States Naval Test Pilot School is located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland and EPNER (Ecole du Personnel Navigant d'Essai et de Reception/School for flight test and acceptance personnel), the French test pilot school, located in Istres, France. The US Air Force Flight Test School is located on Edwards Air Force Base in California. Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County California in the Antelope The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS Patuxent River in Patuxent River, Maryland "Pax River" redirects here For the river see Patuxent River. EPNER, (École du Personnel Navigant d’Essais et de Réception is the French Test pilot school based at the Istres Le Tube Airbase, France. Istres is a commune in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région Another School is the private National Test Pilot School, located in Mojave, California. The National Test Pilot School (NTPS is the only civilian school of the seven largest Test pilot schools in the world Mojave is a Census-designated place (CDP in Kern County, California, United States.

Notable test pilots

Brigadier General Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, pictured with his history-making X-1, was the first pilot known to have broken the sound barrier.
Brigadier General Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, pictured with his history-making X-1, was the first pilot known to have broken the sound barrier. Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager (born February 13 1923 is a retired Brigadier-General in the United States Air Force and a noted Test pilot. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Some notable test pilots include:

Awards made to notable test pilots include the international Iven C. Kincheloe Award made by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. The Iven C Kincheloe Award recognizes outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing. The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design .

See also

References

External links

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