test pilot

noun

: a pilot who specializes in putting new or experimental airplanes through maneuvers designed to test them (as for strength) by producing strains in excess of normal

Examples of test pilot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web July 12, 2024 at 6:55 p.m. EDT Listen 7 min Share Comment Save Joe Engle, the last surviving member of the test pilots who skimmed the edge of space on the X-15 rocket plane in the 1960s and who later orbited the Earth on space-shuttle missions, died July 10 at his home in Houston. —

Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 12 July 2024 But in the early days of the space race, the right stuff also seemingly included being white, male and a military test pilot. —

Briley Lewis, Scientific American, 24 June 2024 By then, Van Tassel had made a career in Southern California’s booming aviation industry, working as an engineer and test pilot for companies that included Douglas, Hughes and Lockheed Martin. —

Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2024 Human test pilots have a bit of a reputation thanks to popular culture—from The Right Stuff to Top Gun: Maverick, the profession has been portrayed as a place for loose cannons with a desire to go fast and break the rules. —

Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 19 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for test pilot

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'test pilot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.