“U.S. Naval Test Pilot School” (1959) is a color, training and recruiting film produced by the United States Navy that details the importance of the Naval Air Test Center’s Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. The film details the curriculum and aircraft test flying process for student pilots and features footage of various United States Navy aircraft including the Vought Crusader.

Opening credits, title page overlaid footage of United States Navy aircrafts taking off from aircraft carrier (0:07). Vought F-8 Crusader with blaze orange, test center markings, prepares for testing in airfield at Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland (0:24). Naval aviators in uniform walk into United States Naval Test Pilot School located at test center (0:57). Interior of classroom: wooden school chairs and chalk board with mathematical calculations (1:14). Textbooks used in course and subjects covered: Calculus, thermodynamics, plane and spherical trigonometry, cartesian coordinates, aerodynamics (1:18). Pilots enter room and fill seats, look over material in pairs (1:29). Naval instructor draws on blackboard, lectures to students on “buffet boundary” (2:27). Students check flight syllabus board after morning classes end (2:54). Pilot conducts ground check of plane, prepares for buffet boundary test; Another Navy pilot flies parallel course during test both in FJ-4 Fury; Montage pilots talking to each other during flight test (3:10). Pilot sits in office and writes flight test report with seven principal sections, close-up of sheet with recorded data obtained during flight (4:47). Narrator details various sections of flight report while accompanying footage plays of flight test of North American Fury FJ-4B and pilot writing report on typewriter, interior of pilot in cockpit, gathering qualitative and quantitative data (5:17-7:15). Student test pilot hands in report, report screened by supervisor (7:17). Student pilots on your of four main test divisions at Naval Air Test Center: Armament Test center, airborne perhaps North American Fury FJ-4B (8:15). Electronics test division: Technician assesses engine of plane in hangar for grounds test, close-up of faulty electrical wiring (9:02). Flight phase of electronic testing: F3H-2M Demon takes off from tarmac (9:28). Flight test division: F3H-2M Demon undergoes ground testing, test pilot in orange jumpsuit monitors functionality of wings, engine, take off, landing capabilities (9:50). Service test division: Mechanics works on body of perhaps Douglas F4D Skyray in hangar (10:16). Douglas A-4 Skyhawk takes off for test flight (10:45). Service test division scientists tests pilot high altitude pressure suit, which resembles an astronaut’s suit (10:57). Pilot settles into cockpit of Vought F8U-2 Crusader (11:08). After tour of four test divisions, students back in classroom resume studies: Fundamental dynamics, jet aircraft engines, aerodynamics, data reduction (11:11). Complexity of test flights increases: Lateral directional stability, lateral control effectiveness, high mock investigation (11:39). Naval officers wear dress whites at banquet hosted at Officer’s Club at Naval Air Test Center; certificates handed out and one student relieves trophy for high academic achievement (11:56). Aerial view of United States Navy aircraft carrier fleet; Close-up of work happening on flight strip, planes line up for take off (12:44). Douglas A-4 Skyhawk takes off from flight strip (13:14). Fleet of five Douglas A-4 Skyhawks fly in formation (13:25). Official seal for United States of America Department of the Navy; film ends (13:30).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com