Introduction
I have loved challenging tasks since I was young because they interested me. I was always observant. I would always experiment to know why some events occurred in their usual ways. I ended up with an interest in planes. I wanted to know how planes work. After joining this field, I wanted to get more challenges and develop my skills to be better than any pilot. I chose to be a test pilot because it came with its difficult tests. Having gone through all those difficulties, I would like this essay to explain what it takes for one to be a test pilot. Very few people may know who a test pilot is, what they do, how they qualify to take up these positions or even the challenges they face in their duties.
Role of a Test Pilot
Test pilots differ from ordinary pilots in the way their duties are specialized. Their official role is to try the flight capacity of either new planes or planes that have been rebuilt I a different way (Hallion, 1988). After the test, they write thoroughly comprehensive reports on how what they think about the plane’s fitness to fly. Test pilots usually recommend the planes to fly or suggest further modifications to improve their safety before they are used.
Becoming a Test Pilot
To become a test pilot, one must be very knowledgeable not just in flying planes but on how planes function as well. Having this knowledge helps one to determine the intention of making the plane, try it out to verify whether it fits the purpose than write a technical observation in the form of a report. This means that a test pilot has to be an expert in operating planes besides possessing skills to observe, think and even persuade the makers to adjust their settings as safety may require (Edwards Air Force Base, 2009).
You can become a test pilot through two possible ways. You can get enough experience as an ordinary pilot or you can study aeronautical engineering. Additionally, a civilian test pilot working in the aerospace industry can become a test pilot through an aircraft company. Military test pilots may be picked up by the army they work in. In many occasions, pilots here, are obtained from different ranks in the army to schools which specially train them to be test pilots (Volstad, 1998)
Most civilian test pilots chose this career from childhood. It entails intensive studying of mathematics and sciences in high school as well as excellent communication skills. Communication is necessary to make well written test plane reports that appeal to the intended audience. One also needs communication for analysis of the observations made in test-flying the plane. The reports may then be presented orally to the top management to evaluate. Moreover, anyone intending to become an employee in an aviation industry must read extensively in this area (Bhargava, 2007).
Having gotten that, flying lessons would be a necessary step to aeronautical engineering. The experience of a person in dealing with planes is a requirement in the profession so one must also join a flight school to become a pilot with a license. Enrolling for advanced flying skills can add value to one’s career as a test pilot.
Generally, a test pilot must be physically fit with outstanding motor skills and good judgment and reaction to signals. These are basic requirements (ehow, 2009).
Conclusion
That is how to become a pilot. It is advised to anyone interested in being one that It is important to begin its pursuit early enough in order to obtain full qualifications while It is a career fraught with challenges right from technology to other skills required to fit in it. They include excellent communication skills, motor skills as well as physical fitness of your body. Possession of administrative knowledge is an added advantage to a test pilot because leadership and management is part of duty.
Works cited:
Bhargava, K. “What a Test Pilot Does.” Indian Air Force Platinum Jubilee. 2007. Web.
Edwards Air Force Base. “US Air Force Test Pilot School.” 2009. Web.
E-how. “How to Become a Test Pilot.” E-how. 2009. Web.
Hallion, R. Test Pilots: Frontiersmen of Flight. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Press, 1988.
Volstad, E. “Test Pilot Stuff.” 1998. Web.