test flight

noun

1. a flight made to observe the performance characteristics of a new aircraft or spacecraft.

Word History and Origins

Origin of test flight¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

He was nearly court-martialed for looping the Chesapeake Bay Bridge during a test flight, but fortunately, his superiors intervened.

From Ars Technica

Last month, it attempted what was supposed to be a powered test flight to space.

From Washington Post

After the successful test flight, Virgin Orbit is now open for business.

From Popular-Science

Virgin Galactic now says it will repeat that test flight, then fly another, and then it will finally be Branson’s turn.

From Washington Post

FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson, a former military and airline pilot, operated a test flight in September and vouched for the reworked plane’s safety, saying he would put his family on it.

From Fortune

The 2014 midterms were a test flight for the CounterPAC model.

From The Daily Beast

Early this year a test flight proved that the fuel being used for the rocket would never meet that goal.

From The Daily Beast

Virgin Atlantic was the first airline to conduct a commercial test flight using biofuels in early 2008.

From The Daily Beast

The radio had been stripped out of the ship along with every other instrument not absolutely necessary to test flight.

From Project Gutenberg

It was held in an office ringed with mementoes of the epoch-making test flight of 2338.

From Project Gutenberg

Maybe he was just some pilot up on a test flight, but his sudden dash for the seclusion of the clouds didn't bear that out.

From Project Gutenberg

He felt as if the test flight itself was secondary to what the senator thought about it, what he would say in his progress report.

From Project Gutenberg

And in Number One the installations were complete and the ship's first test flight was scheduled for tomorrow morning.

From Project Gutenberg

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