Commandants of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
Last updated USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California
The commanding officer of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is known as its Commandant. The commandant leads the school which combines Air Force Materiel Command's (AFMC) most complex flying unit encompassing nearly 4,000 flight hours in over 30 aircraft types annually, and Air University's (AU) most demanding Master of Science degree encompassing over 50 credit hours.[1] The position is usually held by a colonel selected by the AFMC commander although this authority may be delegated to the commander of the Air Force Test Center (AFTC).[2] The commandant oversees all flying training, academic instruction, budgeting, and curriculum administration at the school.[3] The commandant also chairs a board of officers that selects the school's students. The selection board consists of flight test squadron commanders with a majority of the board members being TPS graduates.[4] Every three years, the commandant conducts a review of the school's curriculum with participation from flight test squadrons, the U.S. Naval TPS, and operational squadrons.[5]
The school's mission is to "create test leaders, develop school staff and conduct test research to accelerate multidomain capabilities to the warfighter." Its vision is "testers, leaders, thinkers and innovators in the mold of Jimmy Doolittle." Its ethos is "credible, adaptable, warfighter-focused."[6] The school has three courses: the Flight Test Course (FTC), the Space Test Course (STC), and the Enlisted Test Course (ETC). The FTC develops Experimental Test Pilots, Experimental Flight Test Engineers, Experimental Test Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilots, and Experimental Test Combat Systems Officers.[7] The STC develops Space Test Engineers and the ETC develops Enlisted Testers across a wide range of Air Force Specialty Codes.[7] In total, the school graduates approximately 90 students each year.
The school was established on September 9, 1944 as the Flight Test Training Unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB) in Dayton, Ohio.[8] To take advantage of the uncongested skies and superb flying weather, the school was moved on February 4, 1951 to its present location at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of Southern California.[8] Edwards AFB is the home of the Air Force Test Center and has been an integral part of flight testing since the 1940s.[9]
Between 1962 and 1972, the Test Pilot School expanded its role to include astronaut training for military test pilots.[10] Thirty-seven TPS graduates of this era were selected for the U.S. space program, and twenty-six went on to earn astronaut's wings by flying in the X-15, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs.[11] Although the school no longer trains astronauts, many TPS graduates since 1972 have been selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for duties in space. The school encourages applications from civilians, personnel from other U.S. military services, and individuals from foreign countries.[12] An exchange program allows selected students to attend other test pilot schools including the United States Naval Test Pilot School, the United Kingdom's Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS), and France's École du personnel navigant d'essais et de réception (EPNER).[13]
Commandants
The following list provides a complete list of commandants of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. The table contains their name, rank, dates as commandant, the TPS class from which they graduated (if applicable), and notable events that occurred during their tenure at the school.
The rank shown is at the time the individual served as commandant.
Class
Year/Letter
The year and order in which a class started. For example, 07A was the first of two classes to start in 2007.[14]
Roman Numeral
Four Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS) classes designated I, II, III, and IV, that prepared students for manned spaceflight operations. These classes were dropped when the USAF lost its manned spaceflight mission.[15]
Events
"introduced"
Indicates an aircraft type was first made available for use by TPS students. This date is usually much later than the aircraft entered USAF service.
↑ "AIAA Ka'iliwai Biography"(PDF). AIAA Distinguished Lecture Program 2005. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. p.40. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2008-05-18. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
↑ Cloys, Robert (2023-09-05). "ETFC: Developing future test & evaluation leaders". United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-01-07. During the ceremony, Col. James Valpiani, United States Test Pilot School commandant, addressed the class.
Burgess, Colin; Kate Doolan; Bert Vis (2003). Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN1-56098-457-0.
Marrett, George J. (2008). Contrails Over the Mojave: The Golden Age of Jet Flight Testing at Edwards Air Force Base. Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-511-0.
USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. Privately Published. 1994.
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