Test Pilot

Test pilots work on developing, evaluating and proving experimental aircraft.

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Testing an aircraft requires subjecting it to very specific maneuvers and noting the results. The purpose of doing so is to determine if the plane reacts the way that it has been designed to. This is a vital step towards finding whether a new plane, or a modification to an existing plane, is a good design or not.

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Test pilots are aviators who work both for military organizations and (mostly aerospace) companies. Being a test pilot of military aircraft, in particular, is regarded as the most challenging and risky flying conducted in peacetime, and is therefore the pinnacle of military aviation. Risk levels 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. The maturation of aircraft technology, the much increased ability to test aspects of aircraft performance in ground-testing (often using computer simulation), and lately the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to test experimental aircraft features, have all contributed to this. Despite this, piloting experimental aircraft remains significantly more dangerous than most other types of flying.

Related Topics:
Aviator - Military organizations - Aerospace - Companies - 1950s - Unmanned aerial vehicle

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