National Test Pilot School celebrates 20^th Anniversary

On 25 September 2001, National Test Pilot School, celebrates 20 years of flight test training.

Formed in 1981 by Sean and Nadia Roberts, NTPS has grown continuously. It’s large fleet of aircraft, ranges in size and speed from the Hughes 500 helicopter to the supersonic Saab Draken. Nearly all the aircraft are specially equipped with on-board instrumentation and recording equipment or state of the art avionics, including FLIR and NVG. Additionally, students often fly the latest aircraft for specific projects. Test pilot and flight test engineer students cover avionics and systems, simulators, stability and control and performance in a comprehensive course recognized by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Over the past 20 years, more than 3000 students have been trained on courses ranging from a two week introduction to flight testing, to a year long Masters level course. Students represent 30 different countries around the world, from 194 different organizations, covering nearly all the US and foreign militaries, civil certification agencies and aircraft manufacturers. While most courses are taught at Mojave, off-site training is also undertaken. Courses are tailored to fit the needs of customers.

The school’s staff of 30 test pilots, engineers and support personnel, operate 28 dedicated aircraft of different types, flying approximately 1500 hours per year in flight test training. NTPS also has it’s own in-house simulation facilities for both aircraft and systems and currently holds the contract for initial and recurrent training of FAA test pilots.

Graduates from NTPS courses are in senior positions in research and development, certification test and evaluation and management throughout the world aviation community.

For more information, please visit the NTPS web site at http://www.ntps.edu , or contact:

Shawn Coyle
National Test Pilot School,
1030 Flightline Road, Mojave, CA 93501
661 824 2977
email: scoyle@ntps.edu.