A Flight Test Establishment—its function and a suggested composition

Extract

To the majority of an aircraft manufacturer's technical staff the words “Flight Test” conjure up a vision of a ramshackle collection of seedy looking huts on the far side of the company's airfield, which itself may be 20 to 30 miles away from the main organisation. Within these huts dwell a small band of dedicated enthusiasts who apparently are willing to subjugate most of their waking hours and personal lives to performing their function in spite of the machinations of their two greatest enemies—aircraft unserviceability and the weather. While starting work at 08.30 hrs. (if not earlier) their working day always seems to reach its climax about one hour before sunset, irrespective of the time of year, and goes on for long after the last test aircraft has landed. However, they are a fortunate few, in that they have the privilege and responsibility of working with the company's end product in its functional form, an experience that today is denied to, or at least is remote from, the large majority of design and manufacturing staff.