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{{short description|United States military school for test pilots}}{{More sources|date=August 2024}}{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= United States Naval Test Pilot School
|image= File:USNTPS insignia.svg
|image_size= 150px
|caption=United States Naval Test Pilot School patch 
|dates=1945 - present
|country= [[United States]]
|allegiance=
|branch= [[United States Navy]]
|type= [[test pilot school]]
|role= Training of test pilots and flight test engineers
|size=
|command_structure=[[Naval Air Warfare Center]]
|garrison=[[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]] 
|garrison_label=Home station
|nickname=USNTPS
|patron=
|motto=  
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=
|anniversaries=
|aircraft_fighter=
|current_commander= 
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
}}

The '''United States Naval Test Pilot School''' (USNTPS), located at [[Naval Air Station]] (NAS) [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River|Patuxent River]] in [[Patuxent River]], [[Maryland]], provides instruction to experienced [[United States Navy]], [[USMC|Marine Corps]], [[United States Army|Army]], [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], and foreign military experimental [[test pilot]]s, [[flight test engineer]]s, and flight test [[Naval Flight Officer|flight officers]] in the processes and techniques of [[aircraft]] and systems testing and evaluation.<ref name="Wilson1992">{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=George |date=1992 |title=Flying the Edge: The Making of Navy Test Pilots |url=https://archive.org/details/flyingedgemaking00wils/page/271 |language=EN |location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]], USA |publisher=US Naval Institute Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/flyingedgemaking00wils/page/271 271] |isbn=9781557509253 |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref name="CRN">{{Cite web|url=https://fcc.vtol.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/USNTPS-RW-Brief.pdf|title=US Naval Test Pilot School - Rotary Wing Proqram Update by Craig R. Nixon|website=fcc.vtol.org|access-date=2019-01-08}}</ref>

==History==
The school was established in 1945, when the Navy's Flight Test Group transferred from [[Naval Support Facility Anacostia|Naval Air Station Anacostia]], [[Washington, DC]] to [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]] and Test Pilot Training Division or TPT was established.

USNTPS is the primary test pilot school for [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] aviators, as it is the only U.S. military test pilot school to offer instruction on [[Helicopter|rotary-wing aircraft]]. They also operate an exchange program with the [[U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School]] located at [[Edwards Air Force Base]]. Class 1 graduated December 21, 1948. In 1957 the school's name was officially changed to the United States Naval Test Pilot School.

Milestones:<ref name="CRN"/>
* Rotary Wing Syllabus introduced in 1961
* 11 month syllabus established in 1973
* Airborne Systems Syllabus introduced in 1975
* Short Course Department organised in 1997

== Training ==
The selection process is highly competitive, and applicants are chosen by a selection board. The curriculum accommodates three main specialities with two classes annually (11 months in duration):
* fixed wing (pilot/engineer)
* rotary wing (pilot/engineer)
* airborne systems ([[Naval flight officer]]/engineer)

Training program includes:<ref name="CRN"/>
* pre-arrival flight training in [[Beechcraft T-6 Texan II|T-6]] ([[NAS Pensacola]]), [[Northrop T-38 Talon|T-38C]] ([[Randolph AFB]]), [[Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota|H-72]], and [[Sikorsky H-60|H-60]] (Western Army Aviation Training Site (WAATS), [[Marana, Arizona|Marana]], AZ)
* 530 academic hours
* 100 sorties/120 flight hours
* about 25 [[technical report]]s

Instructional flow is traditional theory to practice: classroom, lab and simulation, exercise briefing and flight demonstration, later data flights with technical reports preparation, review/debrief/critique.<ref name="CRN"/> 

Aircraft used by the United States Naval Test Pilot School include the [[Beechcraft T-6 Texan II|T-6B Texan II]], [[Northrop T-38 Talon|T-38C Talon]], [[Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota|UH-72A Lakota]], [[Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk|UH-60L Blackhawk]], [[Fairchild C-26 Metroliner|C-26A ASTARS III]], [[Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet|F/A-18F Super Hornet]], [[Beechcraft C-12 Huron|C-12C Huron]], [[de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter|NU-1B Otter]], [[Bell OH-58 Kiowa|OH-58C Kiowa]], [[de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver|U-6A Beaver]], and the [[Schweizer X-26 Frigate|X-26A Frigate]]. The USNTPS also temporarily operates a [[North American B-25 Mitchell|TB-25N Mitchell "Panchito"]], a [[Lockheed T-33|CT-133 Silver Star]] of Ace Maker Aviation, a [[Cessna 185 Skywagon|Cessna A185F Skywagon floatplane]], [[Bell AH-1 Cobra|AH-1F Huey Cobra]] of Army Aviation Heritage Foundation and a [[Learjet 25]] of the [[Calspan|Calspan Corporation]], all used briefly at different times by the school.

== Notable alumni ==
Those include (by year/class of graduation):
* [[Marion E. Carl]] (1945, Class "O")
* [[Edward L. Feightner|Edward "Whitey" Feightner]] (1949, Class 2)
* [[George Chamberlain Duncan]] (1949, Class 3)
* [[Alan Shepard]] (1951, Class 5)
* [[John Glenn]] (1954, Class 12)
* [[Thomas B. Hayward]] (1954, Class 12)
* [[James Bond Stockdale]] (1954, Class 12)
* [[Scott Carpenter]] (1954, Class 13)
* [[Richard F. Gordon, Jr.|Richard Gordon]] (Class 19)
* [[Jim Lovell]] (1958, Class 20)
* [[Wally Schirra]] (1958, Class 20) 
* [[Pete Conrad]] (1958, Class 20)
* [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]] (1959, Class 23)
* [[Alan Bean]] (Class 26)
* [[Richard G. Thomas]] (Class 31) 
* [[Vance D. Brand]] (Class 33)
* [[Frederick D. Gregory|Frederick Gregory]] (Class 58)
* [[Charles Bolden]] (former NASA Administrator and former Space Shuttle Commander) (Class 75)
* [[Pierre Thuot]] (Class 83)
* [[William C. McCool|William "Willie" McCool]] (Class 101)
* [[Mark Kelly (astronaut)|Mark Kelly]] (Class 105)
* [[Scott Kelly (astronaut)|Scott Kelly]] (Class 105) 
* [[Sunita Williams]] (1993, Class 104)
* [[Stephen S. Oswald]] (Class 74)
* [[Paul Sohl]] (Class 104) 
* [[Art Tomassetti|Art "Turbo" Tomassetti]] (1997, Class 112)
* [[Anne McClain]] (Class 143)
* [[Nicholas "Reek" Jahrmarkt]] (Class 161)

==See also==
{{Commons category|United States Naval Test Pilot School}}
*[[List of test pilot schools]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.navair.navy.mil/nawcad/usntps USNTPS Website]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1945]]
[[Category:Naval aviation education]]
[[Category:Test pilot schools]]
[[Category:United States naval aviation]]
[[Category:United States Navy schools and training]]
[[Category:United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni| ]]
[[Category:1945 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]