Flugtests

Flugtests, a term used in German-speaking contexts, are controlled flight trials designed to evaluate the performance, handling qualities, safety, and reliability of an aircraft or spacecraft. They are conducted on prototypes, new configurations, or major modifications and are essential for validation before production or certification.

Planning is conducted by a flight test organization and centers on a test plan that defines objectives, acceptance criteria, flight envelopes, instrumentation, and risk controls. Data are gathered from onboard sensors, flight instrumentation, and ground stations and are analyzed to assess aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, control laws, and avionics.

Flight test programs progress through phases such as taxi and systems checks, initial low-speed flights, envelope expansion, stall and post-stall handling, high-speed maneuvers, gust response, flutter and aeroelastic stability, engine start/shut-down reliability, and endurance testing. Each phase has predefined success criteria and abort points.

Safety is a core consideration, including risk assessment, qualified test pilots or pilots and flight-test engineers, redundant systems, detailed procedures, and controlled testing environments.

Outcomes of Flugtests inform design changes, verify compliance with performance targets, and provide evidence for regulatory certification by aviation authorities.

With the growth of unmanned systems and spaceflight, flight testing extends to remotely piloted, autonomous, and orbital vehicles, applying similar principles to verify software, autonomy, and system integration under varied conditions.