|
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques〔Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing of the Airplane.'' American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., 1996, p. 265〕 or FTTs, 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. 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, fly by wire technology and lately, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to test experimental aircraft features. Still, piloting experimental aircraft remains more dangerous than most other types of flying. ==Qualifications== A test pilot must be able to: *Understand a test plan; *Stick to a test plan, flying a plane in a highly specific way; *Carefully document the results of each test; *Have an excellent feel for the aircraft, and sense exactly how it is behaving oddly if it is doing so; *Solve problems quickly if anything goes wrong with the aircraft during a test; *Cope with many different things going wrong at once. *Effectively communicate flight test observations to engineers and relate engineering results to the pilot community, thus bridging the gap between those who design and build aircraft with those who employ the aircraft to accomplish a mission. Test pilots must have an excellent knowledge of aeronautical engineering, in order to understand how and why planes are tested. They must be above-average pilots with excellent analytical skills and the ability to fly accurately whilst following a flight plan. Test pilots can be experimental and engineering test pilots (investigating the characteristics of new types of aircraft during development) or production test pilots (the more mundane role of confirming the characteristics of new aircraft as they come off the production line); many test pilots would perform both roles during their careers. Modern test pilots often receive formal training from highly-selective military test pilot schools, although other test pilots receive training and experience from civilian institutions and/or manufacturers' test pilot development programs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Test pilot」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|