Flight test generally comes at the end of the aircraft design process where the aircraft/vehicle is evaluated and refined; however, in some cases (more experimental NASA vehicles) the process is more evolutionary as the test pilots are continuously working with the engineers and scientist in the development process. If the flight testing is not properly planned, the process could result in an almost endless series of tasks and since the flight testing is generally at the end of the aircraft design process, the economic pressures become increasing apparent. From an aeronautical and aerospace engineering perspective there are two purposes, finding and fixing design problems as well as the verification and documentation the performance capabilities of the vehicle. In general there are two types of flight test done by test pilots; experimental flight tests and operational flight tests these are sometimes referred to as the developmental test world.
The Test Pilot School was created to formalize and standardize test pilot training in order to reduce the high accident rates (not to mention the even higher incident rates) as well as increase the number of productive test flights. In addition to the test pilots, there are also flight test engineers (often pilots themselves) and flight test navigators (who are also sometimes pilots). Normally there are one or two (more common) classes offered per year at each military Test Pilot School with the number of slots varying (usually from 20-25, but can be as high as 40) and a course length of 48-50 weeks. The basic experience level upon entry to military Test Pilot School in the U.S. is: completion of formal military flight training (approximately 18 months) and 6-10 years of experience (deep operational experience is essential) with military aircraft, a technical bachelor´s degree (engineering (especially aeronautical and aerospace) is preferred but some have physics or mathematics) and many have a technical master´s degree (in engineering).
This technical background is needed particularly in the evaluation phases of test pilot duties. Test Pilot Schools want to see how the pilots adapt to unfamiliar environments and candidates are given a series of tests in an unfamiliar aircraft for a week (usually it is around 5 flights). While attending Test Pilot School, flying normally occurs in the morning over 2 flying periods and the afternoon is devoted to academics. You may only fly 3 times per week some weeks, but there is rigorous preparation for the upcoming flight as well as preparation for academics. You are constantly busy and I compare it to taking 18 graduate hours (in engineering) while maintaining flight duties and taking on additional duties like squadron safety officer; all at the same time. After a flight test you must reduce your data, analyze the data and prepare your reports (written and oral). The type of concentration needed is intensely different from the operational tempo of squadron life or combat operations (which are intense), yet you must be equally relaxed.
There are seven Test Pilot Schools in the western hemisphere. I consider 4 of them to be major and 3 minor due to the number of extraordinary quality instructors and the caliber of its graduates. The minor schools are high quality.
1)Patuxent River NAS (for Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, Army, Some Air Force, and foreign military pilots). The optimum time to begin applying to TPS is just prior to or at the completion of your J.O Sea Tour. I have an admitted bias.
2)Edwards AFB (Air Force, Foreign military pilots (usually English and French) and an occasional civilian pilot.
3)Empire Test Pilot´s School run by DERA (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) but has now split into Quinetiq (a defense technology company) with the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). DSTL like DARPA in the U.S.
4)EPNER (École du personnel navigant d’essais et de réception) in France. This school is unique in that it serves as a hybrid for the French military and French defense industry to include the European Space Agency (ESA). NASA will have student/instructor test pilot or shuttle pilot exchanges. ESA training is divided into 3 phases, Basic Training (16 months), Advanced Training (International Space Station (ISS) oriented -12 months), and Increment Specific Training (18 months preparation for specific mission). Some ESA training is done at NASA facilities.
All four of these schools coordinate with one another and exchange pilots. There are two non-military Test Pilot Schools and another military school in the west:
5)The National Test Pilot School (NTPS) is the only civilian test pilot school in the United States. The course curriculum is similar to that of the U.S. Air Force taught at Edwards AFB. Most of the students here are foreign military or defense contractor pilots. The cost is around $1 million per student for EASA category 1 (CAT 1) flight test rating (there are 4 categories).
6)Esquadrão de Formação em Ensaios em Voo (EFEV) Brazilian Air Force Test Pilot school in São José dos Campos, Brazil. Brazilian and occasionally other South American Military pilots attend here. They also have rotary wing training like Pax River and the Russian Test Pilot School. Their curriculum is based on EPNER, Empire Test Pilot School, and a mix of USAF and USN Test Pilot Schools. The school was 48 weeks and does a fair amount of test pilot exchange with both U.S. Test Pilot Schools particularly with the Engineers and the (Rotary) Pilots.
7)The International Test Pilots School, at Woodford, England or London, Ontario Canada (civilian-owned); Most of the students here are also foreign military or defense contractors. This course is 24-25 weeks.
In the Eastern Hemisphere there is one major Test Pilot School and 2 minor schools, they are:
8)Russian Ministry of Aviation Test Pilot School and Russian Federal Space Agency (now ROSCOSMOS). This school on occasion has a western student/instructor (that NASA sends) that has the opportunity to fly some of the older Soviet/Russian fighters including the Mig-25 stratospheric flights as well as the Mig-29 (spin testing with Russian instruments is an experience), and coordinates with Russian space launches. The school is broken into M. M. Gromov Flight Research Institute (known as LII) and Tsentralniy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut (TsAGI), and Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute where the Buran Program was operated (with VKK Space Orbiter). Test Pilot Training is 12 months and RFSA training was divided into three parts, General Space Training (24 months), Group Training (12 months), and Crew Training (18 months).
9)Chinese Test Pilot School, Chinese National Space Program, and the Shenzhou program (similar to the Russian Soyuz). The Chinese have used NTPS and sources indicate that their developing program was originally based on the Russian Ministry of Aviation Test Pilot School and was modified to include some materials from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB and NTPS. With the building of Chinese aircraft carriers, I would expect them to also integrate materials from Patuxent River. I would expect student/instructor NASA test pilots and next generation shuttle pilots to be exchanged in the future. The Chinese National Space Program is loosely based on the NASA Program (currently they are around the Apollo IX level) with elements from the ESA (European Space Agency) and the Russian RFSA (ROSCOSMOS). Their three phase program is Phase I (Primary - 12 months, Gen-Fam (general familiarization)), Phase II (Secondary - 36 months, extensive piloting), Phase III (Tertiary, mission specific - 10 months).
10)Indian Air Force Test Pilot School known as Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE). They mostly evaluate aircraft and systems for induction into user squadrons in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and did some training with the Russian Ministry and RFSA in the 1980´s.
Generally there are 4 major areas taught at Test Pilot School with 20 or so mandatory classes required for graduation. These areas are:
•Performance
•Flying Qualities
•Systems
•Test Management
It is not uncommon for potential students to have been alternates two or three times before being accepted. Test pilots can be experimental and engineering test pilots (investigating the characteristics of new types of aircraft and systems during development) or production test pilots (often working with the defense contractors).
Many of the commercial airlines also have test pilots that are often graduates of a military Test Pilot School and they conduct acceptance flights (from planes stored in the Mojave or planes received from countries with less than reliable operational and maintenance practices or after they have been reconfigured) as well as operation test flights after heavy maintenance checks particularly after multiple engine changes or major repairs to flight control surfaces. For pilots flying at one of the U.S. airlines, flight test is generally flown under part 91, not on the part 121 certificate. When a new aircraft is being introduced to the civilian world at Boeing or EADS, often times the commercial airline that is purchasing the new equipment will have a few of their test pilots integrated with the manufacture´s development team of test pilots and engineers at the later stages of development. Operational military test pilots also perform similar operational test flights that are often call maintenance test flights and are integrated with the manufacture during early development as mentioned below.
Military programs differ from commercial programs in that the government contracts with the aircraft manufacturer to design and build an aircraft to meet specific mission capabilities. Often military (engineering) test pilots and engineers are integrated as part of the manufacturer’s flight test team, even before first flight. The final phase of the military aircraft flight test is the Operational Test (OT) and then they are ferried to their squadrons or an acceptance depot/base. A significant portion of the technology created and tested by NASA is spun off for use in these programs (as well as other types of programs). They are literally titled spinoffs. Vectored Thrust (VT) and high angle of attack (HAOA) are some simple examples that are commonly understood.
The NASA pipeline has tracts for the Space Shuttle (Pilot and Mission Specialist), (Astronaut) Test Pilots, and (Research) Test Pilots. The first two retain their rank and the third category does sometimes. Being a military (engineering) test pilot is generally one of the basic qualifications. The more experience a pilot has being tried by fire (in multiple aircraft, in combat, and as military test pilot), the better and more likely they will be accepted into the NASA program. Training here is generally 12-27 months with the first 12 months (Basic Training or Phase I was 16 courses) being relatively similar (for the first two groups) and then a distinct 3-12 months of specialization (Advanced Training sometimes called Phase II) for the second and third category and a different Advance Training for the shuttle pilots and mission specialists. The Research Test Pilots have a shorter Basic Training and a modified Advance Training. There is additional mission specialization called Intensive Training or Phase III (like work-ups for the military pilots going out to the fleet, but a little more intense), after (Advanced Training) for the shuttle pilots and mission specialists 3 months prior to launch. Classes are normally once every two years (not two times per year) with shuttle classes around 15 (2-3 shuttle crews) but varying (could be 25 or 30) by mission parameters and 10 (up to 15) for the test pilots. After training the normal tour for a shuttle pilot was 5 years (occasionally 4) and 4 for the Astronaut Test Pilots due to the higher fatality rate (was 38% but some classes were almost double) and can be much longer for Research Test Pilots. Some of this training is currently being reworked.
There are differences in the psychological profiles and technical experience of the various types of Pilots at NASA that are more suited to the type of work (flying) that they will be performing. NASA often sends all of these tracts to obtain a second (or third) master´s degree and/or a doctorate (about 35%) to places like M.I.T. for Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering (often focusing on Astronautics) or Cal Tech for Physics. The (Astronaut) Test Pilots will not be on the official roll of Astronauts unless they were already a Shuttle Pilot or until their vehicles become officially (publically) acknowledged/announced. The Test Pilots can neither confirm nor deny.
Three of the most important skills of a test pilot are firstly communication; as you are continuously communicating results, experiences and subtle nuances with other test pilots, engineers and the ´rocket scientists ((double) Ph.D. types in various scientific fields).´ These three major categories work on cross functional teams (pilots, engineers, scientists) as well as sub teams within their fields. The second most important skill is a passion for learning. Learning simply never stops. Even when you have a bunch of graduate degrees there are so many details over so many different topics that it would be a strain if you did not have this passion that makes it fun. The third is natural kinesthetic or proprioceptive awareness in three dimensions (without gravity or a horizon makes this increasingly more important outside of the atmosphere, even with instrumentation).
One of the major tasks of a test pilot is to make credible, persuasive arguments that support sound conclusions and recommendations with regard to how that vehicle will (or will not) progress. This is especially true when making the determination of whether the interface between man and the machine will be successful for those who will pilot the vehicle in the future. The level of concentration is again elevated from the military test pilot, especially on the experimental side of airframe/vehicle development separately and again when integrated with systems. Lack of concentration in order to see (all of) the details or lack of relaxation in order to see the (entire) big picture, both at the same time, increases the probability for a fatality.
An exciting flight test is normally a bad thing, a test pilot works hard to make it as uneventful as possible; but then reality (particularly time compression and diminished brain activity during an inverted spin, envelope departure (from controlled flight) testing, or beyond stratospheric operations) often conflicts with your plans.
Having said of the above, it was the best job I ever had and I could not believe I got paid to do it. It was simply a lot of fun.
Post #200
The Test Pilot School was created to formalize and standardize test pilot training in order to reduce the high accident rates (not to mention the even higher incident rates) as well as increase the number of productive test flights. In addition to the test pilots, there are also flight test engineers (often pilots themselves) and flight test navigators (who are also sometimes pilots). Normally there are one or two (more common) classes offered per year at each military Test Pilot School with the number of slots varying (usually from 20-25, but can be as high as 40) and a course length of 48-50 weeks. The basic experience level upon entry to military Test Pilot School in the U.S. is: completion of formal military flight training (approximately 18 months) and 6-10 years of experience (deep operational experience is essential) with military aircraft, a technical bachelor´s degree (engineering (especially aeronautical and aerospace) is preferred but some have physics or mathematics) and many have a technical master´s degree (in engineering).
This technical background is needed particularly in the evaluation phases of test pilot duties. Test Pilot Schools want to see how the pilots adapt to unfamiliar environments and candidates are given a series of tests in an unfamiliar aircraft for a week (usually it is around 5 flights). While attending Test Pilot School, flying normally occurs in the morning over 2 flying periods and the afternoon is devoted to academics. You may only fly 3 times per week some weeks, but there is rigorous preparation for the upcoming flight as well as preparation for academics. You are constantly busy and I compare it to taking 18 graduate hours (in engineering) while maintaining flight duties and taking on additional duties like squadron safety officer; all at the same time. After a flight test you must reduce your data, analyze the data and prepare your reports (written and oral). The type of concentration needed is intensely different from the operational tempo of squadron life or combat operations (which are intense), yet you must be equally relaxed.
There are seven Test Pilot Schools in the western hemisphere. I consider 4 of them to be major and 3 minor due to the number of extraordinary quality instructors and the caliber of its graduates. The minor schools are high quality.
1)Patuxent River NAS (for Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, Army, Some Air Force, and foreign military pilots). The optimum time to begin applying to TPS is just prior to or at the completion of your J.O Sea Tour. I have an admitted bias.
2)Edwards AFB (Air Force, Foreign military pilots (usually English and French) and an occasional civilian pilot.
3)Empire Test Pilot´s School run by DERA (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) but has now split into Quinetiq (a defense technology company) with the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). DSTL like DARPA in the U.S.
4)EPNER (École du personnel navigant d’essais et de réception) in France. This school is unique in that it serves as a hybrid for the French military and French defense industry to include the European Space Agency (ESA). NASA will have student/instructor test pilot or shuttle pilot exchanges. ESA training is divided into 3 phases, Basic Training (16 months), Advanced Training (International Space Station (ISS) oriented -12 months), and Increment Specific Training (18 months preparation for specific mission). Some ESA training is done at NASA facilities.
All four of these schools coordinate with one another and exchange pilots. There are two non-military Test Pilot Schools and another military school in the west:
5)The National Test Pilot School (NTPS) is the only civilian test pilot school in the United States. The course curriculum is similar to that of the U.S. Air Force taught at Edwards AFB. Most of the students here are foreign military or defense contractor pilots. The cost is around $1 million per student for EASA category 1 (CAT 1) flight test rating (there are 4 categories).
6)Esquadrão de Formação em Ensaios em Voo (EFEV) Brazilian Air Force Test Pilot school in São José dos Campos, Brazil. Brazilian and occasionally other South American Military pilots attend here. They also have rotary wing training like Pax River and the Russian Test Pilot School. Their curriculum is based on EPNER, Empire Test Pilot School, and a mix of USAF and USN Test Pilot Schools. The school was 48 weeks and does a fair amount of test pilot exchange with both U.S. Test Pilot Schools particularly with the Engineers and the (Rotary) Pilots.
7)The International Test Pilots School, at Woodford, England or London, Ontario Canada (civilian-owned); Most of the students here are also foreign military or defense contractors. This course is 24-25 weeks.
In the Eastern Hemisphere there is one major Test Pilot School and 2 minor schools, they are:
8)Russian Ministry of Aviation Test Pilot School and Russian Federal Space Agency (now ROSCOSMOS). This school on occasion has a western student/instructor (that NASA sends) that has the opportunity to fly some of the older Soviet/Russian fighters including the Mig-25 stratospheric flights as well as the Mig-29 (spin testing with Russian instruments is an experience), and coordinates with Russian space launches. The school is broken into M. M. Gromov Flight Research Institute (known as LII) and Tsentralniy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut (TsAGI), and Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute where the Buran Program was operated (with VKK Space Orbiter). Test Pilot Training is 12 months and RFSA training was divided into three parts, General Space Training (24 months), Group Training (12 months), and Crew Training (18 months).
9)Chinese Test Pilot School, Chinese National Space Program, and the Shenzhou program (similar to the Russian Soyuz). The Chinese have used NTPS and sources indicate that their developing program was originally based on the Russian Ministry of Aviation Test Pilot School and was modified to include some materials from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB and NTPS. With the building of Chinese aircraft carriers, I would expect them to also integrate materials from Patuxent River. I would expect student/instructor NASA test pilots and next generation shuttle pilots to be exchanged in the future. The Chinese National Space Program is loosely based on the NASA Program (currently they are around the Apollo IX level) with elements from the ESA (European Space Agency) and the Russian RFSA (ROSCOSMOS). Their three phase program is Phase I (Primary - 12 months, Gen-Fam (general familiarization)), Phase II (Secondary - 36 months, extensive piloting), Phase III (Tertiary, mission specific - 10 months).
10)Indian Air Force Test Pilot School known as Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE). They mostly evaluate aircraft and systems for induction into user squadrons in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and did some training with the Russian Ministry and RFSA in the 1980´s.
Generally there are 4 major areas taught at Test Pilot School with 20 or so mandatory classes required for graduation. These areas are:
•Performance
•Flying Qualities
•Systems
•Test Management
It is not uncommon for potential students to have been alternates two or three times before being accepted. Test pilots can be experimental and engineering test pilots (investigating the characteristics of new types of aircraft and systems during development) or production test pilots (often working with the defense contractors).
Many of the commercial airlines also have test pilots that are often graduates of a military Test Pilot School and they conduct acceptance flights (from planes stored in the Mojave or planes received from countries with less than reliable operational and maintenance practices or after they have been reconfigured) as well as operation test flights after heavy maintenance checks particularly after multiple engine changes or major repairs to flight control surfaces. For pilots flying at one of the U.S. airlines, flight test is generally flown under part 91, not on the part 121 certificate. When a new aircraft is being introduced to the civilian world at Boeing or EADS, often times the commercial airline that is purchasing the new equipment will have a few of their test pilots integrated with the manufacture´s development team of test pilots and engineers at the later stages of development. Operational military test pilots also perform similar operational test flights that are often call maintenance test flights and are integrated with the manufacture during early development as mentioned below.
Military programs differ from commercial programs in that the government contracts with the aircraft manufacturer to design and build an aircraft to meet specific mission capabilities. Often military (engineering) test pilots and engineers are integrated as part of the manufacturer’s flight test team, even before first flight. The final phase of the military aircraft flight test is the Operational Test (OT) and then they are ferried to their squadrons or an acceptance depot/base. A significant portion of the technology created and tested by NASA is spun off for use in these programs (as well as other types of programs). They are literally titled spinoffs. Vectored Thrust (VT) and high angle of attack (HAOA) are some simple examples that are commonly understood.
The NASA pipeline has tracts for the Space Shuttle (Pilot and Mission Specialist), (Astronaut) Test Pilots, and (Research) Test Pilots. The first two retain their rank and the third category does sometimes. Being a military (engineering) test pilot is generally one of the basic qualifications. The more experience a pilot has being tried by fire (in multiple aircraft, in combat, and as military test pilot), the better and more likely they will be accepted into the NASA program. Training here is generally 12-27 months with the first 12 months (Basic Training or Phase I was 16 courses) being relatively similar (for the first two groups) and then a distinct 3-12 months of specialization (Advanced Training sometimes called Phase II) for the second and third category and a different Advance Training for the shuttle pilots and mission specialists. The Research Test Pilots have a shorter Basic Training and a modified Advance Training. There is additional mission specialization called Intensive Training or Phase III (like work-ups for the military pilots going out to the fleet, but a little more intense), after (Advanced Training) for the shuttle pilots and mission specialists 3 months prior to launch. Classes are normally once every two years (not two times per year) with shuttle classes around 15 (2-3 shuttle crews) but varying (could be 25 or 30) by mission parameters and 10 (up to 15) for the test pilots. After training the normal tour for a shuttle pilot was 5 years (occasionally 4) and 4 for the Astronaut Test Pilots due to the higher fatality rate (was 38% but some classes were almost double) and can be much longer for Research Test Pilots. Some of this training is currently being reworked.
There are differences in the psychological profiles and technical experience of the various types of Pilots at NASA that are more suited to the type of work (flying) that they will be performing. NASA often sends all of these tracts to obtain a second (or third) master´s degree and/or a doctorate (about 35%) to places like M.I.T. for Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering (often focusing on Astronautics) or Cal Tech for Physics. The (Astronaut) Test Pilots will not be on the official roll of Astronauts unless they were already a Shuttle Pilot or until their vehicles become officially (publically) acknowledged/announced. The Test Pilots can neither confirm nor deny.
Three of the most important skills of a test pilot are firstly communication; as you are continuously communicating results, experiences and subtle nuances with other test pilots, engineers and the ´rocket scientists ((double) Ph.D. types in various scientific fields).´ These three major categories work on cross functional teams (pilots, engineers, scientists) as well as sub teams within their fields. The second most important skill is a passion for learning. Learning simply never stops. Even when you have a bunch of graduate degrees there are so many details over so many different topics that it would be a strain if you did not have this passion that makes it fun. The third is natural kinesthetic or proprioceptive awareness in three dimensions (without gravity or a horizon makes this increasingly more important outside of the atmosphere, even with instrumentation).
One of the major tasks of a test pilot is to make credible, persuasive arguments that support sound conclusions and recommendations with regard to how that vehicle will (or will not) progress. This is especially true when making the determination of whether the interface between man and the machine will be successful for those who will pilot the vehicle in the future. The level of concentration is again elevated from the military test pilot, especially on the experimental side of airframe/vehicle development separately and again when integrated with systems. Lack of concentration in order to see (all of) the details or lack of relaxation in order to see the (entire) big picture, both at the same time, increases the probability for a fatality.
An exciting flight test is normally a bad thing, a test pilot works hard to make it as uneventful as possible; but then reality (particularly time compression and diminished brain activity during an inverted spin, envelope departure (from controlled flight) testing, or beyond stratospheric operations) often conflicts with your plans.
Having said of the above, it was the best job I ever had and I could not believe I got paid to do it. It was simply a lot of fun.
Post #200
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