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Some of the most fun, exciting, challenging and dangerous flying you can do is being a test pilot. 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. Test pilots may work for military organizations or private, (mostly aerospace) companies. 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. Test pilots must have an excellent knowledge of aeronautical engineering, in order to understand how they are tested and why. Test pilots must be above average pilots with excellent analytical skills and the ability to fly accurately while 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. If you would like to become a test pilot check out the test pilot schools listed below. |
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| The Test Pilot School is where the Air Force's top pilots, navigators and engineers learn how to conduct flight tests and generate the data needed to carry out test missions. Human lives and millions of dollars depend upon how carefully a test mission is planned and flown. The comprehensive curriculum of Test Pilot School is fundamental to the success of flight test and evaluation. |
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| "Working as a Test Pilot, Test Naval Flight Officer or Flight Test Engineer is fantastic duty! You will be responsible for projects on the latest and greatest aircraft and weapons systems, performing flight test and managing introduction of these new assets into the fleet. Testers are part of the acquisition world that makes sure the Fleet is armed with the very best possible weapons. It is a demanding and rewarding career." |
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The National Test Pilot School (NTPS) is a
not-for-profit educational institute incorporated in the State of California . It was established in 1981 to meet the flight test training needs of the US domestic and foreign aerospace industries and governments, both military and civil certification agencies. NTPS is the only civilian school of the seven largest test pilot schools in the world.
The primary objective of the NTPS is to educate and train test pilots and flight test engineers to be immediately capable upon graduation of participating in a military acceptance program, an aircraft development program within an aerospace company, or to complete a civil certification of a new or modified aircraft, either fixed-wing or rotary-wing. NTPS has, since its inception, striven to address a broad constituency. As such we offer 32 unique courses, ranging from one-week, academic-only courses, to the 50 week Professional Course. Beyond that, unique customer requirements may be met by specialized courses tailored to the need if none of the standard courses suffice. |
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| The Empire Test Pilots' School is dedicated to training the test pilots and flight test professionals of tomorrow. Today, it is operated by QinetiQ in partnership with the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. |
