Flight test campaign
Also: flight testing, flight test programme, certification flight testing
The series of test flights through which a manufacturer shows the authorities that a new aircraft type meets the requirements for certification.
What it is
The campaign begins with the first flight and usually runs for one to two years, with several test aircraft logging thousands of flight hours between them. Engineers first open up the flight envelope step by step, exploring speeds, altitudes, stalls and handling with an engine shut down. Then come the certification tests proper, often with the authority's own pilots on board or at the controls.
Some trials are dramatic. The rejected take-off test brings the aircraft to a halt at maximum weight with brakes worn to their limit; the minimum unstick speed test sees the tail dragged along the runway on a protective skid; water ingestion runs send it through a shallow pool; and cold-soak trips to places such as Iqaluit in Canada are matched by visits to hot, high-altitude airports.
The campaign ends when the authority of the state of design, EASA for Airbus or the FAA for Boeing, issues the type certificate, clearing the aircraft for delivery to airlines.
Related terms
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Flight test campaign. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-test-campaign
MLA
“Flight test campaign.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-test-campaign. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Flight test campaign.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-test-campaign.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Flight test campaign. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-test-campaign (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_flight_test_campaign,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Flight test campaign}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-test-campaign},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-test-campaign}},
urldate = {2026-10-17},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-test-campaign |title=Flight test campaign |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}