U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
USAF Test Pilot School | |
---|---|
Test Pilot School | |
Size | 150 |
Part of | 412th Test Wing |
Garrison/HQ | Edwards Air Force Base |
Nickname(s) | USAFTPS |
Motto(s) | Scientia est Virtus |
Commanders | |
Current commander | James Valpiani |
Notable commanders | Chuck Yeager Buzz Aldrin |
Insignia | |
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School Graduate Patch |
The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the
The TPS was created to formalize and standardize test pilot training, reduce the high accident rate during the 1940s, and increase the number of productive test flights.[3] In response to the increasing complexity of aircraft and their electronic systems, the school added training programs for flight test engineers and flight test navigators.[4] Between 1962 and 1972, the test pilot school included astronaut training for armed forces test pilots, but these classes were dropped when the U.S. Air Force crewed spaceflight program was suspended.[5] Class sizes have been uniformly quite small, with recent classes having about twenty students.[6] The school is a component of the 412th Test Wing of the Air Force Materiel Command.[7]
Mission
The USAF TPS aims to produce highly adaptive, critical-thinking flight test professionals to lead and conduct full-spectrum tests and evaluations of aerospace weapons, and to be the world's premier educational and training center for theoretical and applied flight test engineering.[1]
Selection process
- Admission into the USAF TPS is extremely competitive. Thousands of pilots apply. Not uncommonly, Some students have been alternated two or three times before being accepted.[8]
- Civilians are also permitted and encouraged to apply for the long-course program.[6]
- Prospective students should provide AF Form 1711, USAF Test Pilot School Application, plus additional forms specific to a) USAF Pilot/Navigator, b) Experimental FTE, and c) Civilian applicant for the selection board.[9]
- Experimental FTE and civilian applicants are required to undergo a flying Class III physical before facing the TPS selection board.[10]
- Applications must be received by Special Flying Programs Section HQ AFPC/DPAOT3 no later than 45 days before the selection boards meet. UCCR selection boards are held once a year at the Headquarters of the Air Force Personnel Center. The boards are normally held in November, and the board selects the TPS two classes for the next year. At this point,t AFIT-TPS students and students from foreign TPS schools are also selected. The USAF TPS commandant chairs the board. Board members consist of an HQ AFPC colonel, and at least a majority of the board members must be TPS graduates (majors or lieutenant colonels) who are standing flight test, squadron commanders. The AFMC/DO selects board members.[10]
Admission requirements
All candidates require secret clearance.[11] As of May 2015, the minimum admission requirements for application to the USAF TPS are:[11][12]
Course | Time in Service (at time of entry) | Education | Experience | Physical qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|
Experimental test pilot | Less than 9 years and 6 months (helicopter: 10 years and 3 months) | Bachelor of Science (BS) in engineering, math, or physics (GPA > 3.0) | 12 months Aircraft Commander (AC) in a major weapon system (MWS) 750 hours or instructor pilot (IP) in an MWS (1,000 hours if dual IP) Note: 250 hours of manned non-MWS time may be included |
Annual flying class II |
Experimental test RPA pilot | Less than 9 years and 6 months | IP in RPA MWS or at least 750 hours Note: 250 hours in a manned MWS may be included | ||
Experimental combat systems officer (CSO including navigator, WSO) | Less than 9 years and 6 months | IP in CSO MWS or at least 500 hours in MWS, excludes student time | ||
Experimental flight test engineer | Less than 8 years | BS in engineering, math, or physics (GPA > 3.0) A technical M.S. degree highly desired |
≥ 2 years experience in 13XX, 14NX, 15AX, 17XX 21AX, 21CX, 21LX, 21MX, 33SX, 61X, 62EX, 63AX | Annual flying class III |
- Grade point average is on a 4.0 scale.[13]
- Air Force standards for flying duty are defined in Air Force Instruction 48-123, Chapter 6.[14]
- Air Force Specialty Codes listed for engineers include:[15]
- 13XX—Operations: Space, Missile, Command, and Control
- 14NX—Operations: Intelligence
- 21AX—Logistics: Aircraft Maintenance
- 21CX—Logistics: (not found)
- 21LX—Logistics: Logistician
- 21MX—Logistics: Munitions and Missile Maintenance
- 33SX—Support: Communications and Information
- 61SX—Acquisition: Scientist
- 62EX—Acquisition: Developmental Engineer
- 63AX—Acquisition: Acquisition Manager
Exchange program
From time to time, students are selected to attend different test pilot schools in an exchange program between test cultures. Toward this end, students can be sent to the
Course of study
- The USAF TPS curriculum is designed to grant a Master of Science degree in flight test engineering through the Air Force's Air University at the end of the 48-week course. Students are required to take all of the 20 offered courses to graduate. This is a total of 50 credit hours for the 48-week course. Each of the four phases are broken down into three or four main lecture courses, plus their associated flight laboratory work or flight simulator work, and actual practice flights. To graduate from the USAF TPS, a student must be in good standing and satisfactorily complete all academic tests, all oral and written reports, all of the required flight missions, and comprehensive pre-graduation written and oral evaluations with an overall GPA of 3.0 or better.[17]
- Accreditation from the American Council of Education has been in effect since July 1974 (last updated in July 1998) to recommend selected coursework for transfer credit to other higher education institutions.[18]
- At graduation, the commandant usually presents these awards:[19]
- Liethen-Tittle Award to the experimental test pilot graduate with the best overall record for outstanding performance and academic excellence
- R.L. Jones Award to the outstanding experimental test navigator or experimental flight test engineer graduate with the best overall record for outstanding performance and academic excellence
Curriculum
- Two classes are held each year, 48 weeks each (long class). Students can apply for one of three tracks - experimental test pilot, flight test engineer, or flight test navigator. The upper class is called the senior class, while the lower class is called the juniors, determined by what point they are at in their studies at TPS. The class size at TPS varies. Over the past few years, over 20 TPS students have been in each class.[6]
- The four main subdisciplines taught by the USAF TPS Education Division are [20]
- Performance
- Flying qualities
- Systems
- Test management
- TPS also offers short courses in these areas:[21]
- Aerospace vehicle test course
- Unmanned aerial vehicle flight test engineering
- Electronic warfare flight test engineering
- Test management
- Equations of motion
- Propulsion
- Senior executive course
- Organization of the class uses this chain of command:[22]
- Commandant—TPS commander
- Deputy commandant—TPS deputy commander
- Class leader— assigned by the front office based on seniority and academic curriculum to assist the student population
- Students
- Facilities include [23]
- Two fully functional control rooms
- RADAR and electro-optics labs
- Variable-stability in-flight simulator test aircraft or F-16 VISTA
- Student library
- About 100 airborne laboratories over the course of the academic year from Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 to Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit
History
Early years
Although the United States Armed Forces had been evaluating aircraft since Lt.
...out of the blue, I got orders to report to Dayton...I had not shown any interest in wanting to be a test pilot.[25]
Test pilot training was nearly as informal as the selection process with most material directed toward the aeronautical engineers who supervised the tests. Reports and texts of this time provided little guidance regarding how tests should be flown.[26] The best training for test pilots came from practical experience gained while flying as observers and hangar-talk tutorials from other pilots.[27] A test pilot was not expected to have a formal engineering background. He was simply to follow the instructions on the test card and fly the airplane appropriately.[2] Setting the standard to overcome this condition were test pilots such as Jimmy Doolittle. While at McCook Field, Doolittle served as a test pilot, but was given leave to earn both Master of Science and doctoral degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[28] Today, most test pilots have advanced degrees in engineering.[29]
At Wright-Patterson AFB
Inspired by the
The old-fashioned version of the test pilot wrapped up in its hazy aura of glamorous high adventure is gone. No more do they judge a test pilot's flying skill by his ability to tear the wings of the aircraft in a screaming terminal velocity dive. This has been replaced by flying abilities capable of holding very close tolerances to airspeed, altitude, and rate of climb while engaged in reading data, adjusting power, and writing down observations. It is an exact science requiring precision flying of the highest caliber.[33]
Heading west
Frequent bad weather and increased air traffic congestion at Wright-Patterson often prevented students from completing their coursework on time.[34] In addition, most USAAF airplanes were by then being manufactured and tested by contractors on the West Coast of the United States. For these and other reasons, Col. Boyd began the transfer of all flight test operations, including the test pilot school, to Muroc Army Air Field. next to Rogers Dry Lake in the desert of southern California.[2] The school continued operations at Patterson Field, and 1947, had the first United States Air Force class[35] and the first class to fly jets.[36] The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star would provide jet performance training at the school until 1954.[33]
In 1949, this school was renamed the Air Material Command Experimental Test Pilot School, and the soon-to-be Brigadier General Boyd assumed command of Muroc Air Force Base. Boyd chose Major John Amman, an instructor at the school, to go to Muroc AFB, and implement the details of the school's move westward.[37] On 8 December 1949, Muroc AFB has renamed the Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Glen Edwards, TPS class 45, who was killed in the crash of the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing bomber.[38] Captain Edwards, who had recently earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Princeton, typified the new breed of test pilot of which Cardenas had written — one who combined the talents of a highly skilled pilot with the technical expertise of an engineer.[39] Amman completed his work and on 4 February 1951, the school was officially transferred to Edwards Air Force Base. The enormous dry lake bed, extremely long runways, and clear weather served the USAF and the school well, as aircraft performance continued to increase.[29]
Edwards Air Force Base
The TPS was housed in an old weather-beaten wooden hangar along the flight line of what became known as South Base.
Although changes to the curriculum could be made quickly, the acquisition of aircraft for the school remained a perennial challenge for the school's staff.
In 1956, the school chose an official emblem, featuring a slide rule in front of the silhouette of a climbing jet, and a motto, Scientia est Virtus — Latin for "Knowledge is Power". The new logo emphasized the school's role in preparing students with both the technical theory and flying skills indispensable for evaluating modern aircraft.
As the Air Force gradually developed an aerospace doctrine during this period, a small cadre began to establish the criteria for additional coursework aimed at qualifying TPS graduates for the tasks of an astronaut. On Oct. 12, 1961, the Test Pilot School has redesignated the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), with the curriculum, expanded to a full year, divided into Phase I (Experimental Test Pilot Course) and Phase II (Aerospace Research Pilot Course).[44]
Between 1962 and 1975, the test pilot school expanded its role to include astronaut training for armed forces test pilots. Thirty-seven TPS graduates were selected for the U.S. space program, and 26 earned astronaut's wings by flying in the X-15, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs.[45]
On 21 May 2009, a
Personnel
Commandants
The commanding officer of the USAF test pilot school is better known by the title of the commandant. Although not an official prerequisite for the position, most commandants are themselves graduates of the test pilot school. As of September 2023[update], Colonel James Valpiani is the commandant of the school.[47]
-
Buzz Aldrin
July 1971 – February 1972 -
Gene Deatrick
May 1967 – June 1968 -
Jim Doolittle, III
April 1994 – August 1996 -
Chuck Yeager
July 1962 – July 1966
Notable alumni
TPS has produced many notable alumni, including astronauts, record-setting aviators, and senior Air Force leaders.
-
Joe Engle
Class 61C, III -
Gus Grissom
Class 56D -
Pete Knight
Class 58C, 63A -
Mike Loh
Class 67B
See also
Notes
- ^ a b USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog. p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School History". United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. p. 33.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog. p. 10.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. p. 50.
- ^ a b c USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog. p. 17.
- ^ "412 Test Wing (AFMC)". United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 17.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 19.
- ^ a b USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 20.
- ^ a b U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Instruction 99-107, "Certified Current 4 May 2015"
- ^ U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Information (PDF capture of the web page as at 2013-10-08)
- ^ Air Force Instruction 99-107. p. 4.
- ^ AFI 48-123
- ^ AFOCD, Quick Reference Guide, p. 273
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 18.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 21.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 37.
- ^ Air Force Instruction 99-107. p. 15.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 24.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 35-36.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 14.
- ^ USAF TPS Graduate Course Catalog, p. 11.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 11.
- ^ USAF TPS History Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. Edwards AFB website. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 14.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 15.
- ^ Wright from the Start, Ch 4, retrieved June 20, 2008.
- ^ a b Lopez, Fighter Pilot's Heaven, p.128.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 28.
- ^ "The Empire Test Pilots' School - Twenty-Five Years". ETPS Brochure (4th Ed.). HMSO for The Empire Test Pilots' School: 41. 1968.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 36.
- ^ a b c USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 38.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 40.
- ^ The USAF was formed as a separate branch of the armed forces on 18 September 1947.
- ^ Lopez, Fighter Pilot's Heaven, p.129.
- ^ a b c USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 41.
- ^ Historic California Posts, California State Military Museum, retrieved June 21, 2008.
- ^ Glenn Edwards Bio Archived 2008-07-10 at the Wayback Machine, Air Force Link, retrieved June 29, 2008.
- ^ Carey, Howling Howland, p.11.
- ^ a b c USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 42.
- ^ USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 43.
- ^ a b USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 45.
- ^ "U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School History". Edwards Air Force Base. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- ^ Young, Forging Aerospace Power for America, pgs. 3–4.
- Military Times, "Poor maintenance likely led to fatal T-38 crash", October 15, 2009.
- ^ Cloys, Robert (2023-09-05). "ETFC: Developing future test & evaluation leaders". United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
During the ceremony, Col. James Valpiani, United States Test Pilot School commandant, addressed the class.
References
- "Air Force Officer Classification Directory (AFOCD)" (PDF). HQ AFPC/DPPAC. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
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(help) - "Graduate Course Catalog and Student Handbook, 2007–08" (PDF). USAF TPS Curriculum Standards Division. 2007-06-22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
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(help) - "Air Force Instruction 48-123, Vol. 3" (PDF). Secretary of the Air Force. 2006-06-05. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
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(help) - "Air Force Instruction 99-107, Test Pilot School" (PDF). Secretary of the Air Force. 2002-09-23. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
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(help) - USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. Privately Published. 1994.
- Carey, Christopher T. (2007). "'Howling Howland': A history of NASA F-104B Starfighter N819NA" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-09-29.
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(help) - Eppley, Charles V. (March 1963). "History of the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School 4 February 1951 – 12 October 1961" (PDF). USAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2010. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
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(help) - Kutyna, Donald J. (November–December 1969). "The Aerospace Research Pilot School". Air University Review. XXI (1). United States Air Force: 81–91. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ISBN 1-56098-457-0. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-511-0. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- Young, James O. (1997). Meeting the Challenge of Supersonic Flight. Air Force Flight Test Center History Office. ASIN B0006QV0BQ. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
- Young, James O. (2007). "Forging Aerospace Power for America" (PDF). The U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
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References
This article contains information that came from a public domain government website
External links
- "U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School". United States Air Force. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- "USAF TPS 07B". May 19, 2008. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- USAF TPS 08A
- USAF TPS 08B