Home»Aloft Galleries»Aerial Photographs»Maryland - St. Mary's County»MPT picks - St. Mary's County»St. Mary's County Story Photo US Naval Patuxent River Test Pilot School

US Naval Patuxent River Test Pilot School
The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS), located at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, provides instruction to experienced United States Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and foreign military experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test flight officers in the processes and techniques of aircraft and systems testing and evaluation. The school was established in 1945, when the Navy's Flight Test Group transferred from Naval Air Station Anacostia, Washington, DC to Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Test Pilot Training Division or TPT was established. USNTPS is the primary test pilot school for U.S. Army aviators, as it is the only U.S. military test pilot school to offer instruction on rotary-wing aircraft. They also operate an exchange program with the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School located at Edwards Air Force Base. Class 1 graduated December 21, 1948. In 1957 the school's name was officially changed to the United States Naval Test Pilot School. (Wikipedia)