Flight test engineer/Test Pilot Wanabee
 

Hi guys,

not sure if I should post here or not, but I'm guessing the people who'll know would be in here rather than Wanabee Forum.

Qu: What sort of qualifications/experiance do I need? - Routes/companies do I take if I actually wanted to become a flight test engineer/test pilot.

Me: - Grad Physics two yrs ago. Currently working in City, which is paying for my PPL and have saved enough to do MSc nxt Oct.
I like the look of the Msc Aerospace Dynamics @ Cranfield, and there doesnt seem to be any other Aero pstgrad courses out there esp. for Phy. grad. Most of my friends work as systems engineers for DSTL, Qine, BAe (2 of them are rivals on the same anti-torpedo decoy project!)

I would like to join them, but I would really like to incorporate some flying in the job as well as doing all the desk/lab work.

I wear contacts (but I'm not that interested in military fastjets.)

Any advice would be great: - I'll still love to work as a normal system/aero engineer but it would be great if I could do flying if I ever gain a CPL perhaps after I've finished my postgrad.

:confused: :confused:

Suggest you start with:-

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...threadid=69018

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...threadid=67274

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...threadid=54094

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...threadid=35630


I think that there other courses out there, but frankly I doubt that you'll find one more suitable than Cranfield's. You could try Embry-Riddle, Glasgow or Southampton.

The important thing is to get an "in" which combined with good and relevant technical qualifications will get you on the road. I suspect that your physics degree, combined with some good flying experience may be enough to get your foot in the door - but there's a lot of luck involved in finding the door. That said, a suitable MSc will help you a lot, as will significant flying experience.

I would suggest shooting for FTE, if you have an eye to TP the FTE -> TP route is more reliable than PPL ->CPL -> TP. You'll still need a CPL in most places, but the flight test knowledge that you build up as an FTE will be of more relevance than any amount of commercial flying.

G

At least you're aiming high!
We have quite a few pilots come through here working for some of the major airframe manufacturers who started with the company as engineers, then moved to flight test, and since they had pilot licences, became test pilots later on. Not a fast journey, but one that has good experience and training value. We give them top up courses on flight testing for performance and handling qualities.

As a potential entry point, how are the "flight test" courses offered by various universities and training groups rated? I know that our local people tend to use the bigger schools such as NTPS, but I see that there are some other short courses offered.

eg: by Flight Dynamics (http://www.flightdynamics.demon.co.uk/)
and UTSI (http://www.utsi.edu/coned/kimberlin1.html)

I know that these courses aren't as specialised as the NTPS / Qinteq courses, but for those of us who are self-funded the normal courses are simply too costly. Are they worth doing?

Thanks
Mike

I confess until I saw your links I'd not heard of either. However, the contact name there for flight dynamics I knew as a groundschool instructor on ITPS before it folded - and so far as I know it folded for entirely commercial reasons, not as a result of any deficiency in it's technical capabilities.

However, my opinion is that if you can't find a major government or international corporation to pay your way through NTPS or ETPS, then far and away your best bet is to go with a major university. They are generally reasonably affordable, and have a stability and credibility that a smaller organisation lacks, regardless of the technical acumen of it's individual staff. UTSI seems to offer this being a state University, here in the UK Cranfield is the obvious place (http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/coa/tech-ftd/ftd-6.htm), although Stewart Houston's group at Glasgow (http://www.aero.gla.ac.uk/PGrad/menupage.htm) seem able to hold their own also from what I've seen of their work and teaching.

G