This new column will feature a brief description, photo/video, and or reference that talks about a Flight Test Technique that students at USAF Test Pilot School are currently learning. It’s an alphabetical list of FTTs together with a chronological account of what future test pilots and flight test engineers are doing right now. It will complement the previous Friday’s FTT tweets as well.

Calibration of the air data system is one of the first Flight Test Techniques taught at the USAF Test Pilot School.

Tower Fly By flight test technique (FTT) is a geometric way to determine true altitude above the ground.

A trailing cone pitot-static system (NASA link) is deployed on a tube behind the aircraft to gather uncontaminated air for flight test air data calibrations. Here’s a picture of the Boeing 787 with trailing cone (look just aft of the upper rudder).

US Navy Performance Flight Test Manual: include air data system/flight test theory and data reduction.

Here is a great website reference for pitot-static calibration for experimental aircraft, written by the USAF Test Pilot School pitot-statics master instructor.

Air Data Measurement and Calibration is a NASA paper on the subject.

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This post summarizes references and #FTT tweets from the previous Friday. What is #FTT Friday?

#FTT Friday
Each Friday, @FlightTestFact will deliver examples, definitions, and explanations of flight test techniques for the entire day. You can view these tweets by searching for #FTT and #flighttest as depicted below. You can also click on the picture below to be taken to the twitter search results. What FTT would you like to know more about?

Previously: What is an FTT?