Editing Test pilot (section)

==Qualifications==
*Understand a test plan
*Stick to a test plan by flying a plane in a highly specific way
*Carefully document the results of each test
*Have an excellent feel for the aircraft and sense exactly how it is behaving oddly if it is doing so
*Solve problems quickly if anything goes wrong with the aircraft during a test
*Cope with many different things going wrong at once
*Effectively communicate flight test observations to engineers and relate engineering results to the pilot community, thus bridging the gap between those who design and build aircraft with those who employ the aircraft to accomplish a mission
*Have an excellent knowledge of [[aeronautical engineering]] to understand how and why planes are tested.
*Be above-average pilots with excellent [[analytical skills]] and the ability to fly accurately while they follow a flight plan.

Test pilots can be '''experimental''' and '''engineering''' test pilots (investigating the characteristics of new types of aircraft during development) or '''production''' test pilots (the more mundane role of confirming the characteristics of new aircraft as they come off the production line). Many test pilots would perform both roles during their careers.  Modern test pilots often receive formal training from highly-selective military test pilot schools, but other test pilots receive training and experience from civilian institutions and/or manufacturers' test pilot development programs (see [[list of test pilot schools]]).