Commandants of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
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The commanding officer of the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test flight officer, navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new ...
(USAF TPS) is known as its Commandant. The commandant manages the school which is a military unit that operates in a distinctly academic atmosphere. The position is usually held by a
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
selected by the
Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...
(AFMC) commander although this authority may be delegated to the commander of the
Air Force Flight Test Center The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) is a development and test organization of the United States Air Force. It conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in ...
(AFFTC). The commandant oversees all flying training, academic instruction, budgeting, and curriculum administration at the school. The commandant also chairs a board of officers that selects the school's students. The selection board consists of flight test squadron commanders with a majority of the board members being TPS graduates. The commandant determines enrollment requirements and associated schedules.https://www.valdosta.edu/afrotc/documents/AFI99-107TestPilotSchool.pdf Every three years, the commandant conducts a review of the school's curriculum with participation from flight test squadrons, the U.S. Naval TPS, and operational squadrons. The school's mission is to produce 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 Testing ...
s, flight
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s, and flight test
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to lead and conduct test and evaluation of aerospace weapon systems. The school was established on September 9, 1944 as the Flight Test Training Unit at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...
(AFB) in
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. To take advantage of the uncongested skies and superb flying weather, the school was moved on February 4, 1951 to its present location 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, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
in the
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of
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. Edwards AFB is the home of the Air Force Flight Test Center and has been an integral part of flight testing since the 1940s. Between 1962 and 1972, the Test Pilot School expanded its role to include astronaut training for military test pilots. Thirty-seven TPS graduates of this era were selected for the U.S. space program, and twenty-six went on to earn astronaut's wings by flying in the
X-15 The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed ...
,
Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...
,
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
, and
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programs. Although the school no longer trains astronauts, many TPS graduates since 1972 have been selected by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
(NASA) for duties in space. The school encourages applications from civilians, personnel from other U.S. military services, and individuals from foreign countries. An exchange program allows selected students to attend other test pilot schools including the
United States Naval Test Pilot School The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS), located at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River in Patuxent River, Maryland, provides instruction to experienced United States Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and foreign military experi ...
, the United Kingdom's
Empire Test Pilots' School The Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) 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. T ...
(ETPS), and France's
École du personnel navigant d'essais et de réception EPNER (''École du personnel navigant d’essais et de réception'') is the French test pilot school, based on the Istres Le Tube Airbase, France. One of the five main test pilot schools in the western hemisphere, EPNER maintains close links with ...
(EPNER).


Commandants

The following list provides a complete list of commandants of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. The table contains their name, rank, dates as commandant, the TPS class from which they graduated (if applicable), and notable events that occurred during their tenure at the school.


Key


List of Commandants

Individual was killed in an aviation-related accident.


Notable alumni

USAF TPS has produced many notable alumni including astronauts, record-setting aviators, and senior Air Force leaders.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * *


External links

* * * *{{cite web , last=Patrick , first=Bethanne Kelly , title = Doolittle's son and grandson dedicate Tokyo Raid exhibit , url = http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=ML_doolittle_bkp , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170417154840/http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=ML_doolittle_bkp , archive-date=2017-04-17 , publisher = Military Advantage , access-date = 2019-08-23 USAF Test Pilot School commandants USAF Test Pilot School commandants United States Air Force lists