Originally Posted by
Mad (Flt) Scientist
I think most TPs would run a mile if asked to actually 'program' an avionics system (and rightly so). All systems placed on aircraft and certified (at least by OEMs) are subject to test pilot assessment, but it doesn't make them the right people to design such, by any stretch of the imagination.
This is perhaps a good distinction between an experimental TP vs an engineering TP. While there are TP's that excel at both, there are also TP's who consider themselves primarily engineers in charge of taking a state-of-the-art design and taming it into a production machine that any good pilot can fly well.
I'd nominate Per Pellebergs and his SAAB flight test crew in this latter role.