The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS), located at

Naval Air Station A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...

(NAS)

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeas ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, provides instruction to experienced

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, Marine Corps,

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

, and foreign military experimental

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

s, flight test engineers, and flight test flight officers in the processes and techniques of

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

and systems testing and evaluation.

History

The school was established in 1945, when the Navy's Flight Test Group transferred from Naval Air Station Anacostia,

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

to Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Test Pilot Training Division or TPT was established. USNTPS is the primary test pilot school for U.S. Army aviators, as it is the only U.S. military test pilot school to offer instruction on

rotary-wing aircraft A rotary-wing aircraft, rotorwing aircraft or rotorcraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings that spin around a vertical mast to generate lift. Part 1 (Definitions and Abbreviations) of Subchapter A of Chapter I of Title 14 of the ...

. They also operate an exchange program with the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School located at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

. Class 1 graduated December 21, 1948. In 1957 the school's name was officially changed to the United States Naval Test Pilot School. Milestones: * Rotary Wing Syllabus introduced in 1961 * 11 month syllabus established in 1973 * Airborne Systems Syllabus introduced in 1975 * Short Course Department organised in 1997

Training

The selection process is highly competitive, and applicants are chosen by a selection board. The curriculum accommodates three main specialities with two classes annually (11 months in duration): * fixed wing (pilot/engineer) * rotary wing (pilot/engineer) * airborne systems ( Naval flight officer/engineer) Training program includes: * pre-arrival flight training in T-6 ( NAS Pensacola), T-38C ( Randolph AFB), H-72, and H-60 (Western Army Aviation Training Site (WAATS), Marana, AZ) * 530 academic hours * 100 sorties/120 flight hours * about 25

technical report A technical report (also scientific report) is a document that describes the process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research or the state of a technical or scientific research problem. It might also include recommendations and ...

s Instructional flow is traditional theory to practice: classroom, lab and simulation, exercise briefing and flight demonstration, later data flights with technical reports preparation, review/debrief/critique. Aircraft used by the United States Naval Test Pilot School include the T-6B Texan II, AT-6E Wolverine, T-38C Talon, UH-72A Lakota, UH-60L Blackhawk, C-26A ASTARS III, F/A-18F Super Hornet, C-12C Huron, NU-1B Otter, OH-58C Kiowa, U-6A Beaver, and the X-26A Frigate. The USNTPS also temporarily operates a TB-25N Mitchell "Panchito", a CT-133 Silver Star of Ace Maker Aviation, a AH-1F Huey Cobra of Army Aviation Heritage Foundation and a Learjet 25 of the Calspan Corporation, all used briefly at different times by the school.

Notable alumni

Those include (by year/class of graduation): * Marion E. Carl (1945, Class "O") * Edward "Whitey" Feightner (1949, Class 2) * George Chamberlain Duncan (1949, Class 3) *

Alan Shepard Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the List of Apollo astronauts#Apollo astr ...

(1951, Class 5) * Bob Hoover (Class 6, also USAF TPS Class 1946c) *

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...

(1954, Class 12) * Thomas B. Hayward (1954, Class 12) * James Bond Stockdale (1954, Class 12) *

Scott Carpenter Malcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury ...

(1954, Class 13) * Richard Gordon (Class 19) *

Jim Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. ( ; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the fi ...

(1958, Class 20) *

Wally Schirra Walter Marty Schirra Jr. ( ; March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007) was an American naval aviator (United States), naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. In 1959, he became one of the Mercury Seven, original seven astronauts chosen for Pro ...

(1958, Class 20) *

Pete Conrad Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. (June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999) was an American NASA astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer, aviator, and test pilot who commanded the Apollo 12 mission, on which he became the third person to walk on t ...

(1958, Class 20) * John Young (1959, Class 23) * Alan Bean (Class 26) *

Richard G. Thomas Richard G. Thomas (April 2, 1930 – June 19, 2006) was an American test pilot, who flew the Tacit Blue, and several spin tests on the F-5F program, including the first flights on both aircraft for the Northrop Corporation. Early life and educat ...

(Class 31) *

Vance D. Brand Vance DeVoe Brand (born May 9, 1931) is a retired American naval officer, aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. He served as command module pilot during the first U.S.-Soviet joint spaceflight in 1975, and as commander ...

(Class 33) * Frederick Gregory (Class 58) * Charles Bolden (former NASA Administrator and former Space Shuttle Commander) (Class 75) * Pierre Thuot (Class 83) * William "Willie" McCool (Class 101) *

Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, retired astronaut, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat he ha ...

(Class 105) * Scott Kelly (Class 105) * Sunita Williams (1993, Class 104) * Stephen S. Oswald (Class 74) * Paul Sohl (Class 104) * Art "Turbo" Tomassetti (1997, Class 112) * Anne McClain (Class 143) * Nicholas "Reek" Jahrmarkt (Class 161)

References

External links

USNTPS Website
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1945 Naval aviation education Test pilot schools United States naval aviation United States Navy schools and training 1945 establishments in Washington, D.C.

History

Training

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links