NAVAL TEST PILOTS MAKE THE GRADE AT BOSCOMBE DOWN.In the quiet, rolling hills Rolling hills are like a mountain chain, only a "hill chain" of hills that roll on and on continually. You will often find them in between plains and mountains, near major rivers, or randomly anywhere. The only places without rolling hills are deserts and flood plains. of England's Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain, undulating, mostly barren chalk plateau, c.300 sq mi (780 sq km), Wiltshire, S England. It is noted chiefly as the site of ancient monuments, of which Stonehenge is the most famous. The region is also an army training ground. , Boscombe Down is the home of the Empire Test Pilot School. Four students from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (TPS (1) (Transactions Per Second) The number of transactions processed within one second. TPS is a better rating for the performance of hardware and software than the common MHz and GHz rating of the computer. ), NAS (1) See network access server. (2) (Network Attached Storage) A specialized file server that connects to the network. A NAS device contains a slimmed-down operating system and a file system and processes only I/O requests by supporting the popular Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C. , Md., roar through the small English town with one mission: to complete their final exam Noun 1. final exam - an examination administered at the end of an academic term final examination, final exam, examination, test - a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge; "when the test was stolen the professor had to make a new set of . To pass, the students must completely and accurately assess an unfamiliar aircraft and all its systems. But "finding different aircraft in which students have no experience is a challenge," said TPS instructor LCdr. Steven Schellberg, because by the end of the 11-month course, students will have flown most of the models in the TPS inventory. "We divide the students up among several sites for this final exam. That's why we travel to different countries, like Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. , France and Germany." Training in Great Britain also affords the students the unique opportunity to fly the Jaguar (above right), a supersonic twin-jet, tactical support and advanced training aircraft. The final exercise combines all the elements students have spent the last year learning. From flight test techniques to data collection and test report writing, the pilots' days are full. Within their final week they will have written a 60-page test plan to execute during four flights totaling six hours. Once the flight-testing phase is complete, the students have 14 days to complete a 150-page formal technical report. The lessons learned at the U.S. test pilot school translate to a diverse range of skills that go much further than the airfield. "TPS teaches observation skills, adaptability and critical evaluation skills both in and out of the cockpit. It also teaches you how to effectively communicate your observations, both written and orally," said Lt. Richard McGrath, Jr. "It has undoubtedly made me a better aviator and greatly broadened my horizons through work with other U.S. services, as well as other nations." JO1 Gill is assigned to Public Affairs Office, U.S Naval Forces Europe. |
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