The National Test Pilot School (NTPS) is a civilian test pilot

Test pilot

A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....

 school located at the Mojave Air & Space Port

Mojave Spaceport

thumb|right|235px|A retired [[Boeing 767-200]] that flew for [[Ansett Australia]] being cut open for scrap at Mojave AirportThe Mojave Air and Space Port , also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of...

 in Mojave, California

Mojave, California

Mojave is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2762 feet...

. The school attracts students primarily from commercial aircraft manufacturers and military air forces. NTPS offers a variety of courses for both test pilots and flight test engineers, ranging from 3-day specialty seminars to year-long Master's Degree courses, through the associated National Flight Test Institute. To provide a "hands-on" flight test environment, the school operates a fleet of over 40 aircraft, ranging from Cessna 150

Cessna 150

The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane, that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.The Cessna 150 is the seventh most produced civilian plane ever, with 23,839 aircraft produced...

s to the supersonic SAAB Draken fighter.

The school was established in 1981 by retired test pilot Sean Roberts to fill a need for an institution that catered to non-military test pilots. In February, 1994, the National Flight Test Institute was established as the degree-granting branch of NTPS. Test Pilot Instructors at NTPS, apart from their vast experience as test pilots, are also extremely experienced instructors as they typically remain at NTPS for many years. NTPS trains test pilot students and flight test engineers to both civilian and military specifications and has a strong standing in systems testing.

Fleet

• AM3 Bosbok
• Aermacchi MB-326
  Aermacchi MB-326
  The Aermacchi or Macchi MB-326 is a light military jet aircraft designed in Italy. Originally conceived as a two-seat trainer, there have also been single and two-seat light attack versions produced. It is one of the most commercially successful aircraft of its type, being bought by more than 10...
  
  
• Beechcraft Bonanza
  Beechcraft Bonanza
  The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by The Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. , it is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft, and has been in continuous production longer than any other airplane in history...
  
  
• Beechcraft Duchess
  Beechcraft Duchess
  |-See also:-External links:*...
  
  
• Bell OH-58 Kiowa
  OH-58 Kiowa
  The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. Bell Helicopter manufactured the OH-58 for the United States Army based on the 206A JetRanger helicopter. The OH-58 has been in continuous use by the U.S...
  
  
• Bell 212
• Bell UH-1N Twin Huey
  UH-1N Twin Huey
  The Bell UH-1N Twin Huey is a medium military helicopter that first flew in April, 1969. The UH-1N has a fifteen seat configuration, with one pilot and fourteen passengers. In cargo configuration the UH-1N has an internal capacity of 220 ft³ . An external load of 5,000 lb can be carried...
  
  
• Cessna 150
  Cessna 150
  The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane, that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.The Cessna 150 is the seventh most produced civilian plane ever, with 23,839 aircraft produced...
  
  
• Cessna 152
  Cessna 152
  The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed tricycle gear, general aviation airplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use.-Development:...
  
  
• Cessna 172
  Cessna 172
  The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...
  
  
• Cessna 441
  Cessna 441
  -See also:-External links:* *...
  
  
• Cirrus SR22
  Cirrus SR22
  The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine, four-seat, composite aircraft, built by Cirrus Aircraft starting in 2001. It is a more powerful version of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a 310 horsepower engine...
  
  
• de Havilland DH.104 Dove
  De Havilland Dove
  The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs...
  
  
• de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk
  De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk
  The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft which was the standard primary trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Air Force and several other air forces through much of the post-Second World War years...
  
  
• Douglas C-47 Skytrain
  C-47 Skytrain
  The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
  
  
• Hughes 369 Cayuse
  MD Helicopters MD 500
  The MD Helicopters MD 500 series is an American family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. The MD 500 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army's OH-6A Cayuse/Loach...
  
  
• Gippsland GA8 Airvan
  Gippsland GA8
  The Gippsland GA8 Airvan is a single-engined utility aircraft manufactured by Gippsland Aeronautics of Victoria, Australia. It can seat eight including one pilot.-Development:...
  
  
• NDN Firecracker
  NDN Firecracker
  -See also:-Bibliography:*Barnett, Cliff. "". Flight International, 31 March 1984. pp.899-902.*Donald, David .The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester, UK:Blitz, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X....
  
  
• LET L-13 Blaník
• Piper PA-24 Comanche
  Piper PA-24 Comanche
  The Piper PA-24 Comanche is a four-seat, low-wing, all-metal, light aircraft of monocoque construction with retractable landing gear that was first flown in May 1956 according to a Piper Aircraft Company press release...
  
  
• Piper PA-28 Cherokee
  Piper Cherokee
  The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of light aircraft designed for flight training, air taxi, and personal use. It is built by Piper Aircraft....
  
  
• Saab 35 Draken
• North American Sabreliner
• Sikorsky S-55 Chicksaw
• Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
  Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
  The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
  
  

See also

• Empire Test Pilots' School
  Empire Test Pilots' School
  The Empire Test Pilots' School is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type...
  
  
• EPNER
  EPNER
  EPNER, is the French test pilot school, based at the Istres Le Tube Airbase, France. One of the four main test pilot schools in the western hemisphere, EPNER maintains close links with the other three schools; The Empire Test Pilot's School ; The United States Air Force Test Pilot School and The...
  
  
• U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
  U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
  The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School is the Air Force's very advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new aerospace weapon systems and also other aircraft of the U.S. Air Force...
  
  
• United States Naval Test Pilot School
  United States Naval Test Pilot School
  The United States Naval Test Pilot School , located at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Patuxent River, Maryland, provides instruction to experienced United States Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and foreign military experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test...