WHAT DOES A FLIGHT TEST ENGINEER DO?
Published: Apr 17, 2025 – The Flight Test Engineer delivers ground and flight instruction focused on Flight Sciences, Mission Systems, or Test Foundations to support the TPS curriculum. This position develops and leads academic courses, simulator sessions, flight tests, and performance evaluations in specialized test and evaluation procedures. The engineer also creates instructional materials, establishes grading standards, and designs learning objectives in coordination with technical experts.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Flight Test Engineer
1. Flight Test Engineer Responsibilities
- Flight Testing: Develop flight test campaign objectives
- Configuration Management: Identify flight test (flight and ground) configurations required to meet objectives.
- Team Coordination: Coordinate with the Venus team and ensure ground and flight system readiness, lead test readiness reviews
- UAV Development: Assist in the development of UAV test articles and associated sub-systems
- Test Execution: Plan and execute test events at local and remote test locations
- Data Analysis: Compile, review, assess flight test data and operations, write test summary, and update plans and objectives.
- Aerodynamic Design: Conduct conceptual and preliminary design studies of UAV aircraft that support eventual hypersonic flight
- Stakeholder Engagement: Coordinate with and build strong relationships with associated outside organizations and regulatory agencies
- Mission Assurance: Ensure timely and successful flight testing events.
- Project Management: Take responsibility for specific projects and tasks
2. Flight Test Engineer Accountabilities
- Test Development: Supports the development and verification of test methods
- Procedure Design: Develops detailed test procedures with instrumentation and configuration requirements to perform safe and efficient aircraft testing
- Data Analysis: Analyzes, processes, and formats data to customer requirements
- Test Support: Support active aircraft ground and flight testing, including real-time data analysis
- Customer Engagement: Engages with internal and external customers to negotiate requirements and ensure right-sized, effective testing
- Data Review: Reviews test data, including off-nominal data, for accuracy, quality, and/or fidelity before delivery to the customer
- Documentation: Prepares and publishes test reports to document test results and satisfy requirements.
- Reporting: Presents test results internally
- Data Management: Takes responsibility for archiving data and reports
- Training and Multi-Project Support: Trains others and is capable of supporting multiple programs/projects
3. Flight Test Engineer Overview
- Test Planning: Responsible for planning and developing all flight test plans
- Flight Readiness: Ensure flight test vehicle configuration preparation and flight readiness
- Data Analysis: Collect and analyze data, determine results, and generate reports to meet contractual or company requirements
- Compliance: Adhere to commercial, government, and company standards and inspection criteria required in the performance of duties
- Instrumentation: Responsible for test parameters and equipment, including strain gages, accelerometers, pressure transducers, thermocouples, and data acquisition systems
- Installation: Install in a manner that ensures the safety of flight and allows data transmission to one collection point for analysis
- Engineering Interpretation: Read and understand complex engineering test plans to create solutions on where test equipment can be placed on an aircraft or test rig to achieve the best results
- Problem Solving: Develop innovative solutions to concerns brought forth from the flight-testing process
- Technical Support: Assist engineers and pilots
- Budget Planning: Assist in the development of financial and manpower budgets for programs and ensure that programs are completed on schedule and within budget constraints
4. Flight Test Engineer Tasks
- Test Campaign Management: Responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing flight test campaigns of prototypes
- Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate with all interface areas, including engineers, pilots, technicians, and other personnel, to guarantee the aircraft's readiness for the test
- Resource Estimation: Estimate manpower, materials, and time required to meet contractual/project requirements
- Budget Monitoring: Inform Director, Flight Test Operations of financial/manpower overrun projections, including possible solutions to eliminate and/or mitigate any issues
- Industry Awareness: Maintain currency in the fields of aircraft flight and ground testing, engineering design, competitive aircraft and products, and technical innovations
- Project Execution: Use best business practices to ensure that all project work is completed timely, safe, and efficient manner within contractual and fiscal requirements/constraints
- Solution Investigation: Investigate all possible solutions utilizing all available company resources to meet program requirements
- Task Prioritization: Prioritize all project work and schedules to meet contractual requirements
- Progress Reporting: Prepare and submit progress reports on projects and assigned personnel to the Director, Flight Test Operations
- Interdepartmental Communication: Establish and maintain effective communication with operating departments to facilitate the process
5. Flight Test Engineer Roles
- Curriculum Execution: Helps execute the TPS curriculum with a focus on one of the three major instructional phases, Flight Sciences, Mission Systems, and Test Foundations, based on a person’s background and interest
- Flight Instruction: Provides highly specialized ground and flight instruction to experienced operational pilots, combat systems officers, RPA pilots, and engineers
- Aerospace Education: Educates them on the theories, procedures, techniques, and mindset necessary to test and evaluate research, prototype, and production aerospace vehicles and their systems
- Reporting Structure: Reports to the corresponding phase Technical Expert and the Education Division Chief
- Course Delivery: Teaches academic courses, leads simulator and/or laboratory sessions, and conducts control room, ground test, and in-flight instruction in areas of expertise
- Student Evaluation: Analyzes and evaluates a student's performance on homework assignments, academic tests, briefings, test plans, flight cards, written reports, oral presentations, and practical exams
- Student Support: Provides feedback on student performance and is available on an individual basis for student questions or consultations
- Course Development: Works closely with the phase Technical Expert to develop academic course material, ground and inflight instructional events, instrumentation requirements, data analysis techniques, reporting requirements, and grading standards
- Curriculum Updates: Updates curriculum support materials to include academic course slides, reference materials, Mission Planning Guides, Mission Information Briefs, flight cards, and grade sheets
- Instructional Design: Recommends academic requirements, learning objectives, and reporting standards for their specific phase (Flight Sciences/Mission Systems/Test Foundations)