X-Nico

unusual facts about Flight test


Petersham, New South Wales

Mosquito HR576 RAF (UK) disintegrated over the inner western Sydney suburbs of Leichhardt and Petersham on 2 May 1945 during an air test flight.



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Aeronautica Umbra Trojani AUT.18

With no production orders forthcoming, despite the prototype being returned to the Umbra factory at Foligno for modifications on 20 February 1940 and a second flight test series from 5 November 1940, no improvement was demonstrated over fighters already in production so the A.U.T.18 was abandoned.

Akaflieg Köln LS11

The maiden flight was to be followed by a comprehensive flight test programme in 2006, to be carried out at Akaflieg Köln's home airfield, Dahlemer Binz in the Eifel region in Germany.

Armstrong Siddeley Adder

Adder was flight tested in the rear-turret position of the Avro Lancaster III SW342, the aircraft also having been previously modified and used for icing trials of the Mamba by Armstrong Siddeley's Flight Test Department at Bitteswell.

Brockworth, Gloucestershire

On April 8, 1941 the first test flight of the Gloster E28/39 with a turbo-jet engine invented by Sir Frank Whittle took off from the company's flight test airfield at Brockworth.

Dawn-to-dusk transcontinental flight across the United States

The record was set by 1st Lt. Russell L. Maughan, a U.S. Army Air Service test pilot at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, the site of the Air Service Engineering Division and its major flight-test center.

Edward N. Hall

Hall directed the Weapon System 133A (Minuteman) program until the eve of the missile’s first complete flight test.

Erskine Leigh Capreol

He performed the first flight test of the Noorduyn Norseman, the first Canadian bushplane designed to withstand harsh Canadian flight conditions.

Fairchild T-46

Burt Rutan's Rutan Aircraft Factory (RAF) in Mojave, California was contracted to perform the flight test evaluations, with test pilot Dick Rutan doing the flying.

Flight data recorder

One of the earliest attempts to record flight data was made by François Hussenot and Paul Beaudouin in 1939 at the Marignane flight test center, France, with their "type HB" flight recorder.

Flight recorder

One of the earliest and proven attempts was made by François Hussenot and Paul Beaudouin in 1939 at the Marignane flight test center, France; they were essentially photograph-based flight recorders since the record was made on a scrolling photographic film.

Flight test engineer

Flight test engineers are employed by large aviation manufacturers (such as Boeing, Bombardier Aerospace, AgustaWestland, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Bell Helicopter, Sikorsky Aircraft, Airbus, Dassault Aviation,Aérospatiale, Mitsubishi, Piaggio Aereo or Embraer); or government research organizations, such as NASA or Qinetiq; or government certification agencies like the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

J. Lynn Helms

Mr. Helms was a Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a trustee of the USAF Flight Test Museum, a Life Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Society, an Honorary in the Air Traffic Control Association, Co-Founder of The J. Lynn Helms Aviation Science Scholarship Fund, University of Illinois, and a retired member of the Wings Club of New York City.

Lockheed YF-22

A request for proposal (RFP) was issued in July 1986, and two contractor teams, Lockheed, Boeing and General Dynamics, along with Northrop and McDonnell Douglas, were selected on 31 October 1986 to undertake a 50-month demonstration phase, culminating in the flight test of two prototypes, the YF-22 and the YF-23.

Mike Mullane

In July 1976, upon completing the USAF Flight Test Engineer Course at Edwards Air Force Base, California, he was assigned as a flight test weapon system operator to the 3246th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

NAL Saras

On 6 March 2009, 2 Indian Air Force test pilots, Wing Commander Praveen Kotekoppa and Wing Commander Dipesh Shah along with a Flight Test Engineer Squadron Leader Ilayaraja, were killed when the second prototype Saras aircraft crashed and caught fire in an open field near Bidadi, about 30 km from Bangalore.

National Test Pilot School

Using an instrumented DeHavilland Dove (DH-104), introductory, two-week performance and flying qualities flight test courses were taught for Edwards AFB, California; Patuxent River NAS, Maryland; Eglin AFB, Florida; the Naval Post-Graduate School, California; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; and the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment, Cold Lake, Canada.

S. David Griggs

In 1967 Griggs entered the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland and upon completion of test pilot training was assigned to the Flying Qualities and Performance Branch, Flight Test Division, where he flew various test projects on fighter and attack-type aircraft.

Tony LeVier Flight Test Safety Award

2008 - Flight Test Safety Database Team: Barton Henwood, NASA/DFRC; Rodrigo Huete, FAA (Ret); John Hed, FAA; Greg Lewis, National Test Pilot School

2012 - The Boeing Company 787 Flight Test Team: Mike Carriker, Randy Neville, Jennifer-Ellen Gessler; Federal Aviation Administration 787 Flight Test Team: Eugene Arnold and John Hed