The Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) is a training establishment based at MOD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England.ETPS is run as a partnership between the UK MOD and defence contractor QinetiQ, under a long term partnering agreement.

History

In 1943 Air Marshal Sir Ralph Sorley, who had been concerned at the high rate of fatalities during testing of new aircraft, formed the "Test Pilots Training Flight" at Boscombe Down. In 1943 the first training course was held, finishing in early 1944. The scheme was a success, and the training flight soon became an institution in its own right - the ETPS. In 1963 the course diversified into the teaching of rotary wing testing, followed by a course aimed at flight test engineers rather than pilots in 1974.

In 2001, ETPS was included with those research departments sold off by the Government to Carlyle Group during the formation of QinetiQ. It is now run as a partnership between QinetiQ and the UK MOD.

The Empire Test Pilots' School was the first of its kind, and was followed by other similar schools, such as EPNER in France (École du Personnel Navigant d'Essais et de Réception), The U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Maryland, and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Some of these schools operate an exchange programme, which expands the variety of aircraft the students have available to them for gaining flight test experience.

Aircraft

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The ETPS uses the following types of aircraft:

• Aérospatiale Gazelle
• Agusta A109E
• BAC One-Eleven
• BAe Hawk
• Beagle Basset
• Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet
• Hawker Hunter *No longer used*
• Hawker Siddeley Andover
• Mil Mi-17
• North American Harvard
• Saab JAS 39 Gripen
• Short Tucano
• Westland Lynx
• Westland Sea King

McKenna Trophy

In memory of the second Commandant of the School, Group Captain J.F.X. McKenna, A.F.C, who was killed in a flying accident while serving in that post, the school awards the McKenna Trophy annually to the best fixed wing student. Award recipients include:

• Frank De Winne (1992)
• Maurizio Cheli (1988)
• Tom Morgenfeld (1975)

References

1. Group Captain McKenna was killed on January 19, 1945 flying a Mustang IV, when an ammunition box cover detached at high speed, causing structural failure of a wing. The aircraft crashed on the perimeter of Old Sarum airfield.
2. http://www.davidsiddall.com/testflyingmemorial/1939-45.htm Test Flying Memorial site of British test pilots and engineers who died in flying accidents (1939-1945 page).

See also

• Rotary Wing Test Squadron
• Boscombe Down
• U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
• United States Naval Test Pilot School
• EPNER

External links

• ETPS homepage
• ETPS Association website
• QinetiQ website