U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School

The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the United States Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains special pilots, engineers, and navigators. These experts learn how to test and evaluate new aircraft and other aerospace systems. The school was created on 9 September 1944 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

In 1951, the school moved to Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. This location offered wide-open skies, great weather for flying, and a safer place for test flights.

The TPS was started to make test pilot training more organized, lower the number of accidents, and allow more useful test flights. As airplanes became more complex, the school also began training engineers and navigators for testing. For a time between 1962 and 1972, the school also trained astronauts, but this stopped when the U.S. Air Force spaceflight program ended. Today, each class has around twenty students, and the school is part of the 412th Test Wing of the Air Force Materiel Command.

Mission

The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School works to train pilots and engineers to test and evaluate new airplanes and other flying machines. It teaches them to think carefully and solve problems while flying. The school wants to be the best place in the world for learning how to test new aircraft and flying tools.

Selection process

The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School graduates two classes each year. Getting into the school is very hard, with thousands of pilots applying. Some pilots wait on a list two or three times before they are accepted. Civilians can also apply for a longer course.

All applicants must fill out several forms, and some must pass a special health check before they are considered. The selection board meets once a year to choose students for the next year's classes. Most members of the board are graduates of the school themselves.

Admission requirements

Everyone needs a special security clearance to join. To apply, candidates need to meet certain school standards, including having good grades on a 4.0 scale. There are specific job codes that are accepted for engineers applying.

Exchange program

Sometimes, students from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School go to other test pilot schools in different countries, such as Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland or Boscombe Down in England. Schools in other countries also send students to learn at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.

Course of study

The school's course lasts 48 weeks and leads to a Master of Science degree in flight test engineering. Students must take 20 different courses and complete many flight missions and reports. To graduate, they need to pass all tests and evaluations with an average grade of 3.0 or better. At graduation, special awards are given for outstanding performance.

Curriculum

The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School holds two big classes each year, each lasting 48 weeks. Students can choose to study three different areas: experimental test piloting, flight test engineering, or flight test navigating. The school has two groups of students: the senior class and the junior class, depending on how far they are in their studies. Each class usually has more than 20 students.

The school teaches four main subjects: performance, flying qualities, systems, and test management. It also offers shorter courses on topics like aerospace vehicle testing, unmanned aircraft testing, electronic warfare testing, and more. Students learn in a structured way, with a commandant, a deputy commandant, a class leader, and the students themselves. The school has special rooms for controlling flights, labs for studying radar and electronics, a special flight simulator aircraft F-16 VISTA, a library, and about 100 different airplanes and other flying machines to practice with, from the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 to the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.

History

Early years

The United States Air Force has been testing airplanes since 1909, but the idea of a "test pilot" wasn’t used until World War I. Pilots were chosen in different ways—some volunteered, some were teachers, and others were new officers. One pilot, Lt. Donald Putt, remembered being suddenly ordered to report to Dayton without any prior interest in being a test pilot.

Test pilots didn’t need engineering degrees back then. They mostly learned by flying with experienced pilots and talking with others in hangars. Famous test pilot Jimmy Doolittle stood out because he earned advanced degrees while working as a test pilot.

At Wright-Patterson AFB

Colonel Ernest K. Warburton wanted to make flight testing more organized and independent. In 1944, the Air Force created a formal training program for test pilots at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The training included classroom learning and flying practice on planes like the AT-6 Texan. The school moved a few times, and under Colonel Albert Boyd’s leadership, the training became more precise and disciplined.

Heading west

Bad weather and crowded skies at Wright-Patterson made training difficult. Most new airplanes were being built and tested on the West Coast of the United States. So, in 1951, the school moved to Edwards Air Force Base in California. The dry desert offered clear skies, long runways, and better flying conditions.

Edwards Air Force Base

At Edwards, students flew in the mornings to collect data and spent afternoons in classrooms. Evenings were for organizing the data they collected. Over time, the school added more types of airplanes, like the T-33 Shooting Star and the F-86 Sabre. In 1956, the school got its own building and emblem. Later, it also began preparing some pilots for space missions.

Personnel

Commandants

Main article: Commandants of the USAF Test Pilot School

The leader of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School is called the commandant. Many of these leaders have also graduated from the school themselves. As of September 2023, Colonel James Valpiani is the current commandant.

• Gallery of USAF TPS Commandants

[Buzz Aldrin](/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin)  

July 1971 – February 1972

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[Gene Deatrick](/wiki/Eugene_Peyton_Deatrick)  
May 1967 – June 1968

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Jim Doolittle, III  
April 1994 – August 1996

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[Chuck Yeager](/wiki/Chuck_Yeager)  
July 1962 – July 1966

Notable alumni

Main article: List of U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni

The school has trained many famous people, including astronauts, pilots who set new records, and important leaders in the Air Force.

• Gallery of USAF TPS Alumni

[Joe Engle](/wiki/Joseph_Henry_Engle)  

Class 61C, III

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[Gus Grissom](/wiki/Gus_Grissom)  
Class 56D

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[Pete Knight](/wiki/William_J._Knight)  
Class 58C, 63A

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[Mike Loh](/wiki/John_M._Loh)  
Class 67B