Students heading for the UK MoD's test pilot school at Boscombe Down will learn their trade on a variety of types from the Cessna 172 to Saab's Gripen
Europe is home to two of the world's four internationally recognised test pilot schools, with facilities in France and the UK. Located at the UK Ministry of Defence's Boscombe Down site in Wiltshire, the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) has trained test pilots and flight-test engineers (FTE) for the UK and allied nations for more than 60 years.
Guaranteed intake
Operated by Qinetiq's Test and Evaluation Services organisation under a long-term partnering agreement with the UK MoD, the school is in its second year of commercial operations under a 25-year contract. Around 275 UK students are expected to graduate from the school over this period.
Current capacity on its one-year full test pilot course is set at 23 students per intake, with nine of those drawn from the UK armed forces, which typically divides its commitment into five fixed-wing and four rotary-wing pilots. A further two slots are allocated to FTE training for Qinetiq staff, with the remaining 12 available to British Commonwealth states and other friendly nations. More than 40 countries have sent students through the school since its inception in 1943.
Regular users include Australia, which, with 29 students in the past decade, ranks second only to the UK's 57, plus Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore and Spain. Less frequent customers come from the Middle East and Latin America, while other nations, for example New Zealand, also use the school ahead of major service evaluation demands.
Fixed-wing pilots can expect to fly around 25 aircraft types during around 120h of flying, with helicopter pilots usually logging around 20 types. The course is split into academic, flying qualities, performance and systems elements, with the latter having steadily grown in importance in recent years.
The first month of fixed-wing training takes place in the classroom before students progress to flying-qualities activities, including stalling, on aircraft such as the BAE Systems Hawk and Sepecat Jaguar. Term two introduces aircraft types such as the Shorts Tucano and, from 2005, the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet for instruction in advanced skills, such as spin recovery. "This is the first time that students go outside ordinary service [operating] limits," says John Thorpe, the school's course development manager and flying tutor for fixed-wing aircraft.
During their third term, student teams conduct themed exercises on types such as the Cessna 172 and Qinetiq's thrust vectoring VAAC Harrier, and use external training systems, including simulators for Airbus A320 and Boeing 777 airliners.
Under a final activity dubbed The Preview, students are required to evaluate an unfamiliar aircraft type for around 10h and prepare an extensive report on its characteristics. The ETPS has an agreement with the Swedish air force enabling students to fly the Saab JAS39B Gripen two-seat trainer with Saab test pilots. Other Preview aircraft flown last year included Boeing F/A-18B Hornet and Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters, plus Bell AH-1W Cobra and Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters.
Students also use civilian flying schools and industry facilities during their tuition. In addition, this year they visited military sites in Switzerland and the US Navy Test Pilot School (USNTPS) at Patuxent River, Maryland. This reflects the high level of collaboration between the four major test pilot schools, which also includes twice-yearly meetings between their military commanding officers.
Alphas imminent
Student exchanges also take place annually between the ETPS, France's EPNER and the USNTPS, with the US Air Force Test Pilot School also exchanging one student to the UK around every three years.
The ETPS expects to approve a 2005 long-course intake of 21 students, with a candidate decision this week. Next year's slight fall in numbers follows a spike in demand over recent years, and ETPS officials predict a healthy future for their services.
The ETPS currently uses several Qinetiq aircraft during training, including two Hawks - one T1 and a second equipped with the unique variable-stability Astra system, two Jaguar T2s and two Tucano T1s, all of which have full telemetry equipment.
Work is also nearing completion on the first of its two ex-German air force Alpha Jets, which is awaiting calibration and verification of its telemetry fit. The school uses an Hawker Siddely Andover C1, BAC One-Eleven and Beagle Bassett and can also call on Qinetiq's Panavia Tornado GR1 and F2 test aircraft.
Rotary inventory
In the rotary-wing arena, the ETPS operates three Aerospatiale Gazelle HT3s, a Westland Lynx AH7, two Westland Sea King HC4s and a leased Eurocopter AS355 Squirrel.
Once qualified, UK test pilots and FTEs join the Qinetiq-run Flight Test Centre at Boscombe Down for at least three years, where they check the airworthiness, safety and specification and fitness for purpose of military equipment. "The MoD needs a continual stream of expertise to assess and support projects as they come in and go through their service lives," says Thorpe.
UK test pilots are heavily involved in the introduction of the Royal Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoon, but also provide vital support to legacy systems such as the English Electric Canberra and Tornado.
CRAIG HOYLE / BOSCOMBE DOWN
Source: Flight International
