Empire Test Pilots' School
The Empire Test Pilots' School is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type. The school moved to RAF Cranfield in October 1945, then to Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough in July 1947, before returning to Boscombe Down on 29 January 1968.
Its motto is "Learn to test; test to learn".
ETPS is run by the MoD and defence contractor QinetiQ under a long-term agreement.
History
In 1943, Air Marshal Sir Ralph Sorley, Controller, Research and Development, MAP, formed the "Test Pilots' Training Flight" at RAF Boscombe Down after many pilots died testing the many new aircraft introduced during the Second World War.On 21 June 1943, the unit became the Test Pilots' School within the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down. The school was "to provide suitably trained pilots for testing duties in aeronautical research and development establishments within the service and the industry". It graduated one group of students, the Number 1 Course, which began in mid-1943 and formally ended on 29 February 1944, before the school's name was changed to the "Empire Test Pilots' School" on 28 July 1944.
The first training course, held by the Commandant, Wing Commander Samuel "Sammy" Wroath with G. Maclaren Humphreys, a civilian, as Technical Instructor, was initially attended by 18 pilots, drawn largely from the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy but included three civilian attendees. Five students found the standard of maths required on the course to be too high and left within the first week; the 13 students who completed the first course comprised 11 from the RAF and two from the FAA. Of those who attended No. 1 Course, five eventually died testing aircraft.
served the ETPS as a multi-engined trainer at Farnborough during the mid-fifties
Due to the rapid growth of the A&AEE, at Boscombe Down, the school moved to RAF Cranfield in October 1945. On 12 July 1947, it was attached to the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, where it remained for almost 21 years, flying a wide variety of aircraft types, before returning to Boscombe Down on 29 January 1968.
Until 1963, the course catered to both fixed-wing and rotary-wing pilots, with the latter specializing late in the course. In 1963, a separate rotary-wing course was established, followed in 1974 by a course for Flight test engineers. The school also offers a number of short courses "to meet specific Air Test and Evaluation training needs of the wider flight test community".
In 2001, ETPS was included with those research departments sold off by the Government to Carlyle Group during the formation of QinetiQ. It is now a partnership between QinetiQ and the UK MoD.
The Empire Test Pilots' School was the first of its kind, and was soon followed by other similar schools, such as the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California in 1944, the United States Naval Test Pilot School in Maryland in 1945 and the EPNER in France in 1946. Other schools in India and Japan were established in later years. Some of these schools operate exchange programmes, which expand the variety of aircraft the students have available to them for gaining flight test experience.
In addition to such student exchanges, British, French and American schools share access to their aircraft, so that students can experience a wider range of aircraft types during their respective courses.
ETPS commandants
Commandants' names prior to 1968 from the ETPS 25th anniversary brochure; 1968–88, from Wing Commander "Robby" Robinson's "Tester Zero One". The term "Commandant" was succeeded in 1976 by "Chief Instructor" and in 1980 by "Officer Commanding".Aircraft
As at 18 August 2019 ETPS uses the following types of aircraft:ETPS graduates
ETPS graduates who have made significant contributions to aviation and/or space exploration.To collapse the expanded table, click on "hide"; to expand the collapsed table, click on "show" in the Name column header.
| Name | Course | Year | Comments |
| Baudry, Patrick | No. 37 FW | 1978 | Flew aboard NASA's Space Shuttle 1985 mission STS-51-G. |
| de Winne, Frank | No. 51 FW | 1992 | The first European Space Agency astronaut to command a space mission when he served as commander of the 2009 International Space Station Expedition 21, his second ISS mission. |
| Cheli, Maurizio | No. 47 FW | 1988 | European Space Agency astronaut aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-75 in 1995. |
| Duke, Neville | No. 4/5 | 1946/7 | World War II Fighter ace, later test pilot at Hawker Aircraft. On 7 September 1953, Duke set a new world air speed record of 727.63 mph, flying Hunter WB188. |
| Giddings, Michael | No. 4/5 | 1946/7 | Air Marshal Sir Kenneth Charles Michael Giddings KCB, OBE, DFC, AFC & Bar |
| Goodhart, Nicholas | No. 4 | 1946 | Rear Admiral H.C.Nicholas 'Nick' Goodhart, CB, Legion of Merit, FRAeS, RN rtd, invented the mirror-sight deck landing system for aircraft carriers; record-breaking glider pilot; holder of the Royal Aero Club's Silver medal and the FAI's Paul Tissandier Diploma for "those who have served the cause of Aviation in general and Sporting Aviation in particular, by their work, initiative, devotion or in other ways" |
| Haigneré, Jean-Pierre | No. 40 FW | 1981 | French Air Force pilot, later CNES and ESA cosmonaut on the 1993 Franco-Russian Altaïr and 1999 Soyuz TM-29 missions to the Mir space station |
| Hammond, L. Blaine Jr. | No. 40 FW | 1981 | USAF pilot and NASA astonaut; flew on Space Shuttle missions STS-39 and STS-64 |
| Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr. | No. 12 | 1954 | USAF test pilot |
| McCulley, Michael J. | – | – | Captain, US Navy and NASA astronaut who was pilot of the 1989 Space Shuttle mission STS-34 |
| Muehlberg, John R. | No. 2 | 1944/45 | Lt Col. USAF, first Commandant of the US Air Force Test Pilot School |
| Nicholson, Peter | No. 32 FW | 1973 | Air Vice-Marshal Peter Nicholson, appointed Air Commander Australia on 9 April 1996; admitted as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 1999 Australia Day Honours |
| Nicollier, Claude | No. 47 FW | 1988 | First astronaut from Switzerland; has flown on four Space Shuttle missions: STS-46, STS-61, STS-75 and STS-103; full professor of Spatial Technology at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne from 2007 |
| Peake, Timothy | No. 43 RW | 2005 | Former British Army Air Corps helicopter pilot, he is the first British citizen to be selected as an astronaut by ESA. |
| Pogue, Bill | No. 22 FW | 1963 | Pilot of Skylab 4. |
| Tognini, Michel | No. 41 FW | 1982 | French and ESA astronaut who served on the 1992 Soyuz TM-15 and 1999 Space Shuttle Columbia STS-93 missions. |
| Twiss, Peter | No. 3 | 1945 | On 10 March 1956 in the Fairey Delta 2, a supersonic delta-winged research plane, Twiss raised the world air speed record from 822.1 mph to 1,132 mph. The FD2 was the first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph in level flight. |
| Worden, Al | No. 23 FW | 1964 | Command module pilot for the 1971 Apollo 15 moon mission. |
| Żurakowski, Janusz | No. 2 | 1944/45 | Highly decorated Polish and RAF World War II Spitfire pilot, later test pilot with Glosters and Avro Canada. |
Course trophies and awards
Recipients' names prior to 1968 are taken from the ETPS 25th anniversary brochure. Others up to and including 1983, unless otherwise stated, from.In the tables of trophy winners the following abbreviation are used in the course names:
- FW: Fixed wing
- RW: Rotary wing
- FTE: Flight test engineer
The individual was killed in an aviation accident.
McKenna Trophy
In memory of the second Commandant of the School, Group Captain JFX McKenna, AFC, killed in a flying accident while serving in that post. Initially the school awarded the McKenna Trophy to the best fixed-wing student, but it is now open to the rotary-wing course as well.To expand the collapsed table, click on "show" in the Year column header; to collapse again, choose "hide".
Edwards Trophy
This trophy is awarded by the Edwards Air Force Base in California to the student who makes the greatest progress on the course.To expand the collapsed table, click on "show" in the Year column header; to collapse the expanded table, click on "hide".
| Year | Course | Rank/style | Name | Decorations | Employer | Country |
| 1958 | No. 17 | Flt Lt | RA Whyte | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1959 | No. 18 | Flt Lt | JM Henderson | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1960 | No. 19 | Flt Lt | GM Morrison | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1961 | No. 20 | Flt Lt | PJ Farris | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1962 | No. 21 | Flt Lt | PM Ramachandran | – | Indian Air Force | India |
| 1963 | No. 22 FW | Flt Lt | P. Ashoka | – | Indian Air Force | India |
| 1963 | No. 1 RW | Flt Lt | RF Mundy | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1964 | No. 23 FW | Lt | PEH Banfield | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1965 | No. 24 FW | Lt | W. Davies | – | USN | USA |
| 1966 | No. 4 RW | Lt | PJG Harper | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1967 | No. 26 FW | Flt Lt | ADA Cooke | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1968 | – | – | HD Williams | – | Army Air Corps | United Kingdom |
| 1969 | – | – | VF Champion | – | French Navy | France |
| 1970 | – | – | W. Spychiger | – | Swiss Air Force | Switzerland |
| 1971 | No. 30 FW | Lt Cdr | Chris Hägg | – | Royal Swedish Navy | Sweden |
| 1972 | n/a | Capt. | Ashalom Rom | – | Israeli Air Force | Israel |
| 1973 | – | – | PC Tait | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1974 | – | Flt Lt | Ian E. "Jak" Frost | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1975 | – | – | B. Belluci | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1976 | – | – | FC Lentz | – | US Navy | USA |
| 1977 | n/a | Flt Lt | John Foley | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1978 | n/a | Lt | Nigel Armall-Culliford | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1980 | n/a | Maj. | Horst Hickl | – | German Air Force | Federal Republic of Germany |
| 1981 | No. 19 RW | Capt. | N. Talbot | – | Army Air Corps | United Kingdom |
| 1982 | No. 41 FW | Flt Lt | Simon J. Wood | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1983 | – | – | JA Goddard | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1984 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1985 | No. 44 FW | Flt Lt | R. Meiklejohn | – | Canadian Armed Forces | Canada |
| 1986 | No. 24 RW | Lt | Sigmund Lockert | – | Royal Norwegian Air Force | Norway |
| 1991 | No. 15 FTE | n/a | Anthony L. Dyer | – | – | United Kingdom |
Hawker Hunter Trophy
This trophy, a model of the Hawker Hunter, was first awarded in 1960 by the Hawker Aircraft Company to the student who wrote the best Preview Handling report on the course. Since 1966 syndicates of two or three students have carried out the Preview Exercise; the trophy is awarded to the best team.To expand the collapsed table, click on "show" in the Year column header; to collapse again, click on "hide".
| Year | Course | Rank/style | Name | Decorations | Employer | Country |
| 1960 | – | – | IH Keppie | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1961 | – | – | HWA Deacon | – | Royal Navy | United Kingdom |
| 1962 | – | – | G. Varin | – | French Air Force | France |
| 1963 | – | – | P. Ashoka | – | Indian Air Force | India |
| 1964 | – | – | MW Buss | – | US Air Force | US |
| 1965 | – | – | SC Fisher | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1966 | – | – | DW Gates | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1966 | – | – | SG Pearce | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1966 | – | – | NRJ Wingate | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1967 | – | – | GJ McIntosh | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1967 | – | – | RC O'Day | – | Royal Australian Navy | Australia |
| 1968 | – | – | BPL Stokes | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1968 | – | – | RV Richardson | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1968 | – | – | GA Peterkin | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1969 | – | Mr | K. Koglin | – | – | Federal Republic of Germany |
| 1969 | – | – | BA Wilson | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1969 | – | – | U. Yaari | – | Israeli AF | Israel |
| 1970 | – | – | RG Davis | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1970 | – | – | B. le Cornec | – | French AF | France |
| 1970 | – | – | HF Rammensee | – | – | Federal Republic of Germany |
| 1971 | – | Capt. | Eugène Coeuret | – | French Air Force | France |
| 1971 | No. 30 FW | Sqn Ldr | Pete Sedgwick | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1972 | n/a | Mr | Gunter Sprenger | – | German MoD | Federal Republic of Germany |
| 1972 | n/a | Flt Lt | Paul Buckland | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1972 | n/a | Colin Hague | – | RN | United Kingdom | |
| 1973 | – | – | RH Beazley | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1973 | – | – | JH Finney | – | US Navy | USA |
| 1974 | No. 12 RW | Lt | Dave Beswick | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1974 | Flt Lt | Mike Betts | – | RAF | United Kingdom | |
| 1975 | No. 34 FW | Flt Lt | Chris Yeo | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1975 | n/a | Maj. | Sven Hjort | – | Royal Danish Air Force | Denmark |
| 1976 | – | – | AV Awalegaonkar | – | Indian Air Force | India |
| 1976 | – | – | MC Hagen | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1976 | – | – | FC Lentz | – | US Navy | USA |
| 1976 | – | – | A. Shaked | – | Israeli AF | Israel |
| 1977 | n/a | Capt. | Chris Roberts | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1977 | n/a | Capt. | Agostino Frediani | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1978 | n/a | Capt. | Pino Marani | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1978 | n/a | Flt Lt | Graham Tomlinson | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1979 | – | – | AR Foster | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1979 | No. 6 FTE | – | P. Kemsley | – | – | United Kingdom |
| 1980 | n/a | F/O | John Blackburn | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1980 | n/a | Lt Cdr | Paul Habel | – | USN | USA |
| 1981 | No 40 FW | Sqn Ldr | Jean-Pierre Haigneré | – | French Air Force | France |
| 1982 | – | – | TP Newman | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1982 | – | – | M. Tognini | – | French AF | France |
| 1983 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1984 | No 22 RW | Maj. | Mario Renzo Ottone | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1985 | No. 44 FW | Sqn Ldr | Les Evans | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1985 | No. 44 FW | Cmdt | Serge Aubert | – | French Air Force | France |
| 1987 | No. 46 FW | Lt | SN Hargreaves | – | Royal Navy | United Kingdom |
| 1988 | No. 47 FW | Capt. | Maurizio Cheli | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1991 | No. 15 FTE | n/a | Anthony L. Dyer | – | – | United Kingdom |
| 1991 | No. 15 FTE | Capt. | Lee Obst | – | Canadian Air Force | Canada |
| 1991 | No. 15 FTE | Capt. | Peter Ware | – | Singapore Air Force | Singapore |
| 1993 | No. 31 RW | Flt Lt | Pete Rowlinson | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1993 | No. 31 RW | Capt. | Dave Fawcett | – | A A Avn | Australia |
| 1993 | No. 31 RW | Capt. | Georg Fuchs | – | G A Avn | Germany |
| 1995 | No. 54 FW | Maj. | Tjebbe "Speedy" Haringa | – | RNLAF | Netherlands |
| 1995 | No. 54 FW | Maj. | Bjorn Rygnestadt | – | RNoAF | Norway |
| 1997 | No.56 FW | Flt Lt | Thomas Lyons | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1997 | No.56 FW | Flt Lt | Bruce McDonald | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 2001 | No. 60 FW | Capt. | Todd C. Ericson | – | USAF | USA |
| 2001 | No. 25 FTE | – | Gordon Stewart | – | QinetiQ | United Kingdom |
Patuxent Shield
This trophy, instituted in 1961, is awarded by the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, to the runner-up for the McKenna Trophy.To expand the collapsed table, click on "show" in the Year column header; to collapse again, click on "hide".
| Year | Course | Rank/style | Name | Decorations | Employer | Country |
| 1961 | No. 20 FW | Flt Lt | JEC Mayes | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1962 | No. 21 FW | Sqn Ldr | B. Carroll | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1963 | No. 22 FW | Flt Lt | JF Farley | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1964 | No. 23 FW | Flt Lt | DL Bywater | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1964 | No. 23 FW | Capt. | AM Worden | – | USAF | US |
| 1965 | No. 24 FW | Capt. | Lamberto Fe d'Ostiani | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1966 | No. 25 FW | Flt Lt | JT Lewis | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1967 | No. 26 FW | Sqn Ldr | BJ Graf | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1968 | – | – | CA Wheal | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1969 | – | – | JD Blake | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1970 | – | – | CJ Furse | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1971 | – | Mr | Carl Lang | – | German MoD | Federal Republic of Germany |
| 1972 | No. 31 FW | Flt Lt | John Fawcett | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1973 | – | – | DH Jackson | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1974 | – | Maj. | GE "Luca" Evangelisti | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1975 | – | – | GA Ellis | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1976 | – | – | MC Hagen | – | Royal Navy | United Kingdom |
| 1977 | n/a | Flt Lt | Ronald Cowpe | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1978 | n/a | Capt. | Patrick Baudry | – | French Air Force | France |
| 1979 | – | – | AR Foster | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1980 | n/a | F/O | John Blackburn | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1981 | No 40 FW | Sqn Ldr | Jean-Pierre Haigneré | – | French Air Force | France |
| 1982 | No. 41 FW | n/a | Michel Tognini | – | French Air Force | France |
| 1983 | – | – | B. Van Eyle | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1984 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1987 | 46 FW | Flt Lt | Henry de Courcier | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1997 | No. 35 RW | Lt Cdr | Mark Carretta | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1997 | No. 35 RW | Lt Cdr | Roger Moffatt | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1998 | n/a | n/a | Antoine Van Gent | – | RNLAF | Netherlands |
| 1999 | No. 37 RW | n/a | Simon Sparkes | – | Royal Navy | United Kingdom |
| 1999 | n/a | n/a | n/a | – | Netherlands | |
| 2002 | No. 40 RW | n/a | Stephen Crockatt | – | Royal Navy | United Kingdom |
| 2005 | No. 43 RW | CC | B. Hédé-Hauy | – | French Navy | France |
| 2007 | No. 45 RW | CC | M. Barreault | – | French Navy | France |
| 2008 | No. 46 RW | Maj. | Frédéric | – | French Army Aviation | France |
Westland Trophy
The Westland Trophy, originally presented by Westland Aircraft Limited in 1963, is awarded to the best all-round student on the Rotary Wing Course.To expand the collapsed table, click on "show" in the Year column header; to collapse again, click on "hide".
| Year | Course | Rank/style | Name | Decorations | Employer | Country |
| 1963 | No. 1 RW | Flt Lt | MC Ginn | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1964 | No. 2 RW | Lt | M. Hope | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1965 | No. 3 RW | Lt Cdr | LG Locke | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1966 | No. 4 RW | Flt Lt | JH Cox | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1967 | No. 5 RW | Flt Lt | LVP Galvin | – | RCAF | Canada |
| 1968 | No. 6 RW | – | MFL Purse | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1969 | No. 7 RW | – | WLM Mayer | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1970 | No. 8 RW | Flt Lt | David F Moffat | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1971 | No. 9 RW | Flt Lt | John Whitney | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1972 | No. 10 RW | Flt Lt | Stuart Collins | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1973 | No. 11 RW | KB Engelsmann | – | RAN | Australia | |
| 1974 | No. 12 RW | M. Betts | – | RAF | United Kingdom | |
| 1975 | No. 13 RW | T. Creed | – | RAF | United Kingdom | |
| 1976 | No. 14 RW | JH Allen | – | RAF | United Kingdom | |
| 1977 | No. 15 RW | Mr | Trevor Ralston | – | South African DCA | South Africa |
| 1978 | No. 16 RW | Lt Cdr | David Chapman | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1979 | No. 17 RW | – | A. Noy | – | Israeli AF | Israel |
| 1980 | No. 18 RW | Flt Lt | JEM "Ted" Mustard | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1981 | No. 19 RW | – | I. Young | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1982 | No. 20 RW | Mr | R. Longobardi | – | – | Italy |
| 1983 | No. 21 RW | – | TJ Wood | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1984 | No. 22 RW | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1985 | No. 23 RW | Lt | Bob Horton | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 1986 | No. 24 RW | – | Eric Fitzpatrick | – | Royal Marines | United Kingdom |
| 1988 | No. 26 RW | Capt. | Omri Knoller | – | Israeli AF | Israel |
| 1993 | No. 31 RW | Flt Lt | Pete Rowlinson | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1997 | No. 35 RW | Lt Cdr | Roger Moffatt | – | RN | United Kingdom |
| 2001 | No. 39 RW | Capt. | Massimo Bonesi | – | Italian Army Air Cavalry | Italy |
| 2002 | No. 40 RW | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2003 | No. 41 RW | – | Jacob Bart | – | Royal Netherlands Air Force | Netherlands |
| 2004 | No. 42 RW | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2005 | No. 43 RW | Maj. | Timothy Peake | – | British Army Air Corps | United Kingdom |
| 2006 | No. 44 RW | Lt Cdr | Mark Purvis | – | Royal Navy | United Kingdom |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Sir Alan Cobham Award
Presented to ETPS in 1974 by Michael Cobham, son of Sir Alan Cobham, this trophy is awarded to the fixed wing student who demonstrates the highest standard of flying during the course. The trophy is a silver model of a Short Singapore II flying-boat, which was originally awarded to Sir Alan and his wife in 1928 "in commemoration of their epic circuit of Africa flight in 1927 in such a flying-boat".To expand the collapsed table, click on "show" in the Year column header; to collapse the expanded table, click on "hide".
| Year | Course | Rank/style | Name | Decorations | Employer | Country |
| 1974 | – | Flt Lt | John Thorpe | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1975 | No. 34 FW | Flt Lt | Chris Yeo | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1976 | – | – | MC Hagen | – | Royal Navy | United Kingdom |
| 1977 | n/a | Capt. | Agostino Frediani | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1978 | n/a | Flt Lt | Graham Tomlinson | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1979 | – | – | TH Brown | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1980 | No. 39 FW | F/O | Tracey McCormick | – | RAAF | Australia |
| 1981 | – | – | JJ Barnett | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1982 | – | – | DAZ James | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1983 | – | – | PD Dye | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1984 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1985 | No. 44 FW | Flt Lt | Dave Southwood | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 1986 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1987 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1988 | No. 47 FW | Capt. | Maurizio Cheli | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 2003 | No. 62 FW | Flt Lt | Dave Stobie | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
| 2004 | No. 63 FW | Flt Lt | Jim Schofield | – | RAF | United Kingdom |
Dunlop Trophy
The Dunlop Trophy, initially awarded by the Dunlop Rubber company in 1974, is awarded to the best student on each Flight Test Engineers' course.To expand the collapsed table, click on "show" in the Year column header; to collapse the expanded table, click on "hide".
| Year | Course | Rank/style | Name | Decorations | Employer | Country |
| 1974 | No. 1 FTE | Mr | John LF Denning | – | – | United Kingdom |
| 1975 | No. 2 FTE | – | RJ Humphries | – | – | – |
| 1976 | No. 3 FTE | – | JC Martin | – | – | – |
| 1977 | No. 4 FTE | Lt | M. Maharik | – | Israeli Air Force | Israel |
| 1978 | No. 5 FTE | Lt | David Benedetti | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1979 | No. 6 FTE | – | AM Oliver | – | – | – |
| 1980 | No. 7 FTE | Mr | Robert Badham | – | UK MoD | United Kingdom |
| 1981 | No. 8 FTE | – | A.J. Houghton | – | – | – |
| 1982 | No. 9 FTE | – | K. Jones | – | – | – |
| 1983 | No. 10 FTE | – | B.R. Fouques | - | - | - |
| 1990 | No 14 FTE | Lt | Vito Casagrande | – | Italian Air Force | Italy |
| 1993 | No 17 FTE | Mr | B Dudgeon | – | UK MoD | United Kingdom |
| 1994 | No 18 FTE | Capt. | S McIntosh | – | CAF | Canada |
| 1995 | No. 19 FTE | Capt. | D.J. Masters | – | CAF | Canada |
| 1998 | No. 22 FTE | Antoine Van Gent | – | RNLAF | Netherlands | |
| 2000 | No. 24 FTE | Maj | Francois Robert | – | CAF | Canada |
| 2001 | No. 25 FTE | – | Gordon Stewart | – | QinetiQ | United Kingdom |
| 2002 | No 26 FTE | Mr | A. M Roberts | – | QinetiQ | United Kingdom |
| 2003 | No. 27 FTE | Maj. | Jeoh Leo | – | Singapore Air Force | Singapore |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2008 | No.32 FTE | Lt | Alrik Hoencamp | – | RNN | Netherlands |
| 2009 | No. 33 FTE | Dr | Clare Chatterjea | – | QinetiQ | United Kingdom |
| 2010 | No. 34 FTE | Miss | Gemma Dore | – | QinetiQ | United Kingdom |
| 2011 | No. 35 FTE | Capt. | M Desrochers | – | RCAF | Canada |
| 2012 | No. 36 FTE | Capt. | I Leong | – | RAEME | Australia |
| 2013 | No. 37 FTE | ME4 | K.H. Tee | – | RSAF | Singapore |
| 2015 | No. 39 FTE | Lt | P Six | – | French Navy | France |