Commissioned and warrant officer aviators who have a yen to fly near the edge of the envelope have until March 27 to submit an application for the Army's Experimental Test Pilot Program.
Officers selected for the demanding training will attend an 11-month course at the Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Md.
Selections will be made by an Officer Personnel Management Directorate board that convenes April 6 at Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Ky.
The test pilot school conducts two classes annually, one beginning in January, and another in June.
Commissioned officers who are accepted for training automatically will be accessed into the Army Acquisition Corps, where they will spend the remainder of their career in aviation-related ACC activities.
Basic eligibility criteria requires that warrant officer applicants be in the grades of CW2, or higher; have at least 1,000 flight hours, and have enough time remaining in their careers to complete a four-year service obligation upon completion of training.
Commissioned officer applicants must be members of the Aviation career branch or Army Acquisition Corps and be in year groups 2007-2009.
Additionally, officers must have completed a key developmental assignment in their current rank, and have at least 700 flight hours.
While selections will be made on a best-qualified basis, desirable education and experience qualifications include:
- A degree in an engineering, math or science discipline, and completion of such courses as calculus, statistics, differential equations, aircraft stability and control, thermodynamics, strength of materials, fluid mechanics, propulsion, vibration analysis, aerodynamics and performance.
- Rating as an instructor pilot, instrument flight examiner, maintenance test pilot or maintenance evaluator.
- Experience in complex aircraft, such as the CH-47F, UH-60L/M, OH-58D and/or military fixed wing aircraft.
Application packets should include signed endorsements from members of an officer's chain of command, official college transcripts and endorsements from a standardization instructor pilot and other aviation officials regarding the applicant's flying ability and operational experience.
