From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flight test centers around the world all have similar missions: to conduct flight research and testing of new aircraft concepts and prototypes. Notable centers are listed below (by year of foundation):
[1]
[2]
Government establishments
U.K. Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment , based at
Boscombe Down ,
England (founded 1917)
U.S. Navy Air Warfare Test Center , based at
Naval Air Station Patuxent River ,
Maryland ,
United States (founded 1918, as the Navy's Flight Test Group based at
Naval Air Station Anacostia )
Swedish Armed Forces Flight Test and Evaluation Center (FMV:PROV is a part of
FMV ), based at
Linköping ,
Sweden (founded 1933)
[3]
Italian Air Force Flight Test Center (Reparto Sperimentale di Volo), based at
Pratica di Mare (founded 1935)
[4]
Russian State Flight Research and Test Center , based at
Zhukovsky ,
Russia (founded 1941)
I.N.T.A. Spanish Aerospace Research and Test Center, based at
Torrejón de Ardoz ,
Community of Madrid ,
Spain (founded 1942)
CLAEX Spanish Air Force Experimentation Center, based at Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain (founded 1992)
[5]
U.S. Air Force Test Center , based at
Edwards Air Force Base ,
California ,
United States (founded 1942, as the new location of 477th Air Base Headquarters and Test Squadron)
Flight Test Center (CEV) of the
French Ministry of Armed Forces (CEV is a part of
Directorate General of Armaments ), based at
217 Air Base in
Brétigny-sur-Orge ,
France (founded 1945)
NASA Flight Research Center , based at
Edwards Air Force Base ,
California ,
United States (founded 1946, as the Muroc Flight Test Unit)
NRC
Institute for Aerospace Research , based at
Ottawa and
Montreal ,
Canada
[6]
[7] (founded 1951, as the National Aeronautical Establishment - NAE)
[8]
Brazilian Air Force Flight Testing and Research Institute (part of
CTA ),
São José dos Campos ,
Brazil (founded 1953)
[9]
Japan Air Self-Defense Force
Flight Test Center , based at
Gifu Air Field ,
Japan (founded 1955)
DLR
German Aerospace Research and Test Center , based at
Braunschweig ,
Germany (founded 1956)
WTD 61
German Armed Forces Flight Test Center, based at
Manching ,
Germany (founded 1957 as Testing Center for Military Aerial Equipment at
Oberpfaffenhofen )
[10]
Indian Air Force Test Pilot School ,
Bangalore ,
India (founded 1957)
U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center , currently based at
Redstone Arsenal ,
Huntsville, Alabama ,
United States (founded 1957, as the U.S. Army Aviation Test Board based at
Fort Rucker )
[11]
[12]
China Flight Test Establishment, based at
Xi'an ,
China (founded 1959)
[13]
[14]
Swiss Air Force Flight Test Center (aviation branch of the
Swiss Federal Office for Defence Procurement ), based at
Emmen Air Base ,
Emmen, Switzerland (founded 1964)
Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment , based at
Cold Lake ,
Alberta , and
Ottawa ,
[15]
Ontario ,
Canada (founded 1967, as the
Royal Canadian Air Force Flight Test and Evaluation Squadron No. 448)
[16]
Israeli Air Force Flight Test Center (Manat ) , based at
Tel Nof Airbase ,
Rehovot (founded 1978)
[17]
JAXA Flight Research Center, based at
Chofu Aerodrome ,
[18]
Nagoya Airfield and
Taiki Aerospace Research Field
[19]
Corporate establishments
CASA Flight Test Center, based at the
Getafe Air Base ,
Spain (founded 1924)
SAAB Flight Test Center, based at
Linköping ,
Sweden (founded 1932)
BAE Systems Flight Test Center, based at
Warton Aerodrome ,
England (founded 1947)
Airbus Defence and Space Flight Test Center, based at
Manching ,
Germany (founded 1962, as the
Messerschmitt Company Flight Test Center)
[20]
Sikorsky Development Flight Center, based at
West Palm Beach, Florida ,
United States (founded 1977)
[21]
TCOM Corporation production and flight test site (including the historic
Weeksville Dirigible Hangar ) for development of
lighter-than-air technologies and testing
airships , located at the former
Naval Air Station Weeksville in
Elizabeth City, North Carolina ,
United States (founded 1986)
[22]
[23]
Bombardier Aerospace Flight Test Center (BFTC), based at the
Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport ,
Wichita, Kansas ,
United States (founded 1991, as reconstruction of the acquired in 1990
Learjet facility)
[24]
[25]
Embraer Flight Test Center, based at
Embraer Unidade aerodrome ,
Gavião Peixoto ,
Brazil (founded 2001)
[26]
Bell Flight Research Center, based at
Arlington, Texas ,
United States
[27]
IAI Flight Test Center , based at
Ben Gurion Airport ,
Israel
[28]
See also
References
^ "Featured Issue". The ITEA Journal . 19 (2).
ITEA . 1998.
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1054-0229 .
^ "Annex I : European Flight Test Centres". Society of Flight Test Engineers - European Chapter biannual brochure .
Delft : SFTE. 1999. pp. 38–103.
^
"Linköping Flight Test Center, Sweden" (PDF) . Retrieved 2018-12-31 .
^
"Reparto Sperimentale di Volo" . www.aeronautica.difesa.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-09-06 .
^
"Ejército del Aire - Organización - Unidades - Detalle unidad" . ejercitodelaire.defensa.gob.es . Retrieved 2021-04-18 .
^
"Institute for Aerospace Research (NRC-IAR)" . find.canadamakes.ca . Retrieved 2018-12-29 .
^
"National Research Council Canada | Institute for Aerospace Research | Highlights" . ResearchGate . Retrieved 2018-12-29 .
^ Canada, Government of Canada National Research Council (2011-10-03).
"ARCHIVED - Celebrating 60 years of aerospace research - National Research Council Canada" . www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca . Retrieved 2018-12-29 .
^
"Embraer 2004 Annual Report" (PDF) . SURPERFORMANCE SAS . Retrieved 2019-03-08 .
^
"WTD 61 (Technical Test Facility 61) Manching Germany" . Retrieved 2020-07-26 .
^
Aviation Technical Test Center History .
^ Matthews, Nora R. (1998). "U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center : Fort Rucker, Alabama". The ITEA Journal . 19 (2).
ITEA : 16–17.
ISSN
1054-0229 .
^
"Aviation Industries of China (AVIC)" . Retrieved 2018-12-28 .
^
"Yanliang Airbase - China Military Forces" . www.globalsecurity.org . Retrieved 2018-12-28 .
^ Defence, National (2021-02-05).
"Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment achieves Initial Operational Capability of the Engineering Flight Test Rationalization" . www.canada.ca . Retrieved 2021-08-19 .
^
"Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment - Archeion" . www.archeion.ca . Retrieved 2018-12-28 .
^ Norton, Bill (2004). Air War on the Edge - A History of the Israel Air Force and its Aircraft since 1947 .
Midland Publishing .
ISBN
1857800885 .
^
"JAXA | Headquarters Office / Chofu Aerospace Center" . JAXA | Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency . Retrieved 2019-03-08 .
^
"Flight test facilities of the JAXA Aeronautical Technology Directorate" .
JAXA . Retrieved 2019-01-05 .
^ Spitz, Wilfried; Neubauer, Thomas (1998). "Flight Test Center : Manching, Germany". The ITEA Journal . 19 (2).
ITEA : 14–15.
ISSN
1054-0229 .
^
"Sikorsky Development Flight Center" . Retrieved 2019-02-09 .
^ Stein, Kenneth J. (July 14, 1986). "Westinghouse/Airships Industries joint venture targets Navy program".
Aviation Week & Space Technology : 144, 145, 147, 149.
^
"TCOM Facilities" . TCOM Corp . Retrieved 2019-03-04 .
^ Reynolds, Peter T.; Ranaudo, Richard J. (2000-10-10).
"The Bombardier Flight Test Center - Meeting the Challenge" . SAE Technical Papers Series .
SAE .
^ Siebenmark, Jerry.
"Third Bombardier Global 7000 test jet arrives in Wichita" . The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 2019-04-22 .
^
"EMBRAER UNIDADE GAVIAO PEIXOTO -- SBGP" . World Aero Data. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved 2019-03-09 . {{
cite web }}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link )
^
"Bell shows off newly expanded Arlington Flight Research Center" . Fortworthbusiness.com . Retrieved 2019-01-25 .
^
"The IAI Flight Test Center" . iai.co.il . Retrieved 2021-04-18 .
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