Test Pilot - Qualifications

Qualifications

A test pilot must be able to:

• Understand a test plan;
• Stick to a test plan, flying a plane in a highly specific way;
• Carefully document the results of each test;
• Have an excellent feel for the aircraft, and sense exactly how it is behaving oddly if it is doing so;
• Solve problems quickly if anything goes wrong with the aircraft during a test;
• Cope with many different things going wrong at once.

Test pilots must have an excellent knowledge of aeronautical engineering, in order to understand how they are tested and why. Test pilots must be above average pilots with excellent analytical skills and the ability to fly accurately whilst following a flight plan.