 All new aircraft, designed and built by private contractors for the Navy, must pass the Board of Inspection and Survey trials before final acceptance. These trials are held at the Naval Air Test Center for Tuxand River, Maryland. The test pilot is the key individual in these trials. His evaluation of the airplane determines whether an airplane performs its intended mission safely and efficiently. There is a continuing need for the specially trained test pilots who do this testing. The United States Naval Test Pilot School, located at the test center, meets this need. It equips a selected group of naval aviators with the academic and technical materials necessary for the exacting test of testing the Navy's new aircraft. This is where the academic groundwork is laid, calculus, thermodynamics, plane and spherical trigonometry, progressions and infinite series, Cartesian coordinates, and aerodynamics. At the test pilot school, no distinction is made between pilots of varied backgrounds. Regardless of experience, they study the same subjects, and they will perform the same flight tests in the same airplane. This pilot has four years of experience with multi-engine sea planes. Here's one that put in six years with carrier-based fighters. The helicopter is this pilot's specialty. Here is a light attack man. Different backgrounds, different airplane types. But they all have one important thing in common. They have been carefully selected from the various fleet squadrons. Each one must have a sound engineering background, for he must obtain his own flight data, reduce that data in accordance with the academic instruction he receives, and present the results in report form. Buffet boundary is determined in this test merely establishes the aerodynamic limitations of the airplane's turning capabilities. This limitation may be imposed by the buffet itself, by the lack of elevator effectiveness, or by an accelerated stall. After the morning classes are over, the pilots check their flight syllabus for it. This is their flight schedule for the day. As a general rule, the afternoon test flights are based on material covered in the classroom immediately prior to the flight. In this particular Buffet boundary test, the pilot is interested only in establishing the aerodynamic limitations of the airplane's turning capabilities. After a thorough ground check of the airplane, the pilot is ready to perform the test. An experienced Navy test pilot, flying a parallel course in a chase plane, will act as an observer during the test flight. T cattle nine or zero six. This is T cattle two zero. Reportman ready to start test. This is nine or zero six. Roger out. T cattle two zero. This is nine or zero six. I'm going to start with a couple of wind-ups through two five thousand. Mach point eight, one hundred percent. Ready to commence first wind-ups. Over. This is two zero. Roger out. This is nine or zero six. On set of Buffet, three point eight. Over. This is two zero. You're in the ballpark. Standby for wind-up at Mach point nine. Over. This is nine or zero six. Roger out. The actual flight completed. The problem is still not solved until the pilot completes his flight test report. To accomplish this, the pilot must reduce the data he has obtained during his flight. And when necessary, plot the results in a graph form. The flight report that the student test pilot prepares in his training status is preparing him for the day when he will be writing N-A-T-C reports as project test pilot. There are seven principal sections to the flight report. Section one, conditions relevant to the test. Section two, purpose of the flight. Section three, the scope and method of the test. Section four, results and discussions. This is essentially the body of the report. And information contained here is derived directly from the data obtained during the flight. The data is both quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative aspect is factual. The pilot is working with numbers. The airplane might meet all of its mathematical specifications yet falls short in the pilot's opinion in its response and ability to perform its mission satisfactorily. The pilot must use his own body, his own nerve center, as the criterion in this case. The airplane merely enlarges his sensory field and serves to extend his hands as well as his feet. The pilot must ask himself, would I be willing to fly this airplane into combat? Sure it reaches the speed specified, normal acceleration attained is identical to the figure given by the contractor, yet that Dutch role is in carrying the airplane as a gun platform. There is nothing in the manufacturer's specs that covers this. This is pilot opinion. This is qualitative analysis. The student test pilot now possessing the quantitative data in figures and the qualitative data in his own opinion is ready to discuss the results of his flight test intelligently and effectively. The remainder of the flight report deals with the pilot's conclusions, recommendations, and the enclosures from which he obtained his figures. The report completed, it now is placed in the mill, and the student test pilot has chalked off one more test flight. Before the student test pilot has completed the course at the test pilot school, he will have performed 50 such tests. Meanwhile, the flight report is carefully screened for accuracy of data, soundness of the pilot's judgment, and whether the report has been prepared according to professional standards. In most cases, the reports will be satisfactory. In some cases, outstanding. In every now and then, an unsatisfactory report crosses the desk. Errors in reporting must be corrected in a rewritten report. However, errors in technique or obtained results require the student to go back upstairs for a repeat flight. As a part of their training syllabus, the student test pilots are given a tour of the four main test divisions at the Naval Air Test Center. Each one can expect to be assigned to one of these divisions upon his graduation from the test pilot school. The purpose of these visits is to acquaint the student with the specialized bullets that are available for the graduate test pilot. Here at the Armament Test Division, the armament systems of the airplane are evaluated. To accomplish this, both ground and air tests of every weapon that can be attached to, hung from, or fired by a naval aircraft, are conducted to ensure compatibility with the aircraft and its fire control system. Electronic test division determines the suitability of all electrical and electronic components of new airplanes. To do this, a series of checks and inspections are supervised by the project test pilot. The first one is the ground check. Many minor defects can be detected at this stage, such as improper insulation and wire routing. The flight phase of the electronic test is next. Here the project test pilot determines the suitability of the equipment to perform in view of the airplane's mission requirements. As in all of the other test divisions, the project test pilot makes his final report, the detailed analysis of the equipment that has been assigned to him for evaluation. Flight test is another of the four test divisions. Its job is the evaluation of the airplane in terms of stability and control, airplane and engine performance, carrier suitability, catapult takeoff, and arrested land. Service test. It is the job of service test to find out at the earliest possible time any major defects in the airplane, affecting its service use in regard to maintenance suitability, flight safety and reliability, tactical, and all weather suitability. To fulfill these requirements, service test subjects the airplane to the usage it would receive during the first 300 hours of operation within a fleet unit. These flights are undertaken in all types of weather. They simulate actual combat missions including full armament and maximum load conditions. Service test encompasses many specialized departments, such as the aeromedical branch. Here the clothing and survival equipment required by present day high performance airplanes are tested and evaluated. After completing their tour of the four test divisions at the Naval Air Test Center, the students once more resume their course of studies at the test pilot school. Fundamental dynamics, jet aircraft engines, aerodynamics, and data reduction. In conjunction with the increased load of academic subject material, the daily test flights take on a more complex pattern. Lateral directional stability, lateral control effectiveness, and high mock investigation. The officers' club at the Naval Air Test Center sets the stage for the official culmination of the eight months course. It is at this ceremonial dinner that the graduation certificates are presented to the pilots. This is what they have been working towards. This is the reward for their eight months of intense study and grueling test flight. One of the evening highlights is the presentation of a trophy to the outstanding student. He has earned this award through high academic achievement and flight proficiency. Graduates of the United States Naval Test Pilot School have gone on to distinguish themselves as aviation leaders, wherever they have been later assigned. And in many instances will fly the same aircraft that they had previously evaluated for the Navy at the Naval Air Test Center. Their jobs as project test pilots for the Navy are among the most rewarding the service has to offer. They will have the responsible job of buying our future fighting machines and will contribute immeasurably to the fighting proficiency of the fleet.