Back

#1819 86-0048, X-62A VISTA print

86-0048, X-62A VISTA print
Purchased products will not feature the Squadron Prints watermark
£10.00 €11.52 $13.49
43.8 cm x 29.2 cm
Item added to bag. Click here to view bag.
Please select a size from above to proceed.
Print
X-62A VISTA
86-0048
USAF Test Pilot School, 412 TW
Edwards AFB, California
US - Air Force
Delivery and shipping information

Description

Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1819 - 86-0048, X-62A VISTA, USAF Test Pilot School, 412th Test Wing. Edwards Air Force base, California.

The US Army Air Force Air Technical Service Command formed the Flight Test Training Unit on 9 September 1944 at Wright Field, with Maj Ralph C. Hoewing as its commandant. The requirement to form a comprehensive training program for military test pilots had been previously championed by Col Ernest K. Warbuton, chief of the Flight Section at Wright Field. On 4 February 1951, the US School moved to Muroc AFB and formed as the Air Research and Development Command Experimental Test Pilot School. Although the technical revolution which followed World War II was responsible in many ways for the establishment of the USAF Test Pilot School, test pilot training came into its own with the arrival of the atomic age and the appearance of Russian MiGs in the Korean war. It was at this time that the USAF recognized an urgent need for air technological supremacy. Tremendous advances followed in aircraft performance. Speeds in excess of 1,650 miles per hour and altitudes of over 90,000 ft were soon attained. While these achievements were advancing aviation, USAF aircraft were becoming progressively more complex for their pilots. It was this complexity that created a need for a new type of test pilot: the test pilot-engineer. Along with unusually skilled flying ability, a strong engineering background was also required. In 1956 the school moved from South Base to Main Base, and its emblem was formally approved. The emblem’s shield background portrays the defensive aspect. The slide rule crossing a futuristic supersonic aircraft indicates that the pilots are being taught to evaluate all new and future aircraft. The oblique shockwaves emanating from the aircraft indicate the look to the future since they established the aircraft as supersonic. In 1972 the school was finally named the USAF Test Pilot School, and in 1973 the first flight test engineers attended the course, followed by the first navigator. In 1975 the course was expanded to 46 weeks, and in 2007 accredited, through affiliation with the USAF Air University, as a Master of Science Degree in Flight Test Engineering. In 2009 Unmanned Aerial Systems and Combat Systems Officer course tracks were added. In 2021 the Space Test Course and Enlisted Test Course tracks were added. Developed in 1988, the NF-16D Variable-stability Inflight Simulator and Test Aircraft (VISTA) pictured above is the TPS flagship. It is based on an F-16D aircraft with a highly modified flight control system which allows for advanced flight control education and research. In June of 2021, the NF-16D was redesignated as the X-62A, reflecting a complete overhaul of the aircraft’s avionics to support testing of autonomous aircraft and radical new flight control laws. The X-62A enables the School’s mission to create highly adaptive critical-thinking test leaders who accelerate multidomain capabilities to the warfighter, and the School’s vision of graduates who are “testers, leaders, thinkers and innovators.” Since its creation, the School has produced an elite list of graduates, including World War II flying aces, astronauts, generals, famous first flight pilots and senior test leaders. In addition, there have been over 325 international graduates from 24 countries, enhancing allied capabilities and building international cooperation. Each year the students and staff add to the rich history through their contribution to the School and the wider test community. ‘SCIENTIA EST VIRTUS’ (Knowledge is power)!

You may also like