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Flight testing ensures aircraft safety, effectiveness, and reliability. Commercial testing is for commercial flights, while military testing includes effectiveness for military efforts. Testing involves theoretical, ground, and maiden flight stages, with highly qualified test pilots.
Flight testing is the process of testing a new aircraft or various parts of an aircraft through a number of different methods to ensure that they are safe, effective and reliable for use in flight. This is usually done in a number of different ways before a plane leaves the ground, and can include lab tests and ground tests. It may involve numerous test engineers and one or more test pilots who will ultimately test the aircraft or new devices in the air. Flight testing normally culminates with this type of test flight, often called a maiden flight, and this final process can be quite dangerous.
There are generally two different types of flight test a new aircraft or device will need to pass before acceptance for general use: commercial or military test. Commercial testing is generally reserved for new types of aircraft or parts of an aircraft intended for use on commercial flights, such as those carrying passengers or private cargo through airspace. This type of testing is usually performed initially by engineers and test pilots working for the company developing the new vessel or systems for commercial use. Typically, commercial flight testing is completed by a government agency acting on behalf of the country in which the hardware will be used.
Military flight tests, on the other hand, usually involve government or military test pilots and engineers during the development of the new aircraft or system. Since the government is the customer for this type of development, there is usually a more distinct military and government presence during testing. While commercial development and testing often revolves primarily around the safety and reliability of what is being tested, military testing also often includes the effectiveness of the aircraft or system in relation to military efforts. Military flight tests for a new type of spy plane, for example, would also test how well the craft avoids radar detection and perhaps how well its systems can capture images from high altitudes.
Regardless of the type of flight test being performed, the test usually involves three distinct steps. The first part of the test usually involves theoretical or laboratory tests, which test the new systems in a laboratory environment or use computer simulations to evaluate the aircraft’s performance. This is usually followed by ground testing, in which the various systems are evaluated and tested while the aircraft remains on the ground. The final stage of flight testing involves the aircraft’s maiden flight and testing the systems’ performance in the air. This can be incredibly dangerous, and most flight test pilots are extremely qualified, with extensive training in experimental aircraft.
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