Flight test focus
32 // OCTOBER 2018 #367 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comEPNER’s fleet:
a short history
EPNER was created in 1946 with just two aircraft: a
Caudron 690 trainer and a Dewoitine 520 fighter. In
the following months, the school was able to access
such diverse types as a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a
Junkers Ju 88, and a Stampe S.V.4, from the Centre
d’Essais en Vol (Flight Test Centre), created two years
before the EPNER. The college received its initial jet
aircraft, a Gloster Meteor F1, in 1951, with a variety
of types rapidly following. The first helicopter flights
took place in 1952 with a US-built Bell 47. Four years
later, the EPNER’s 14-strong fleet featured a Sud-
Ouest S.O.30P, three Meteor T7s, one Meteor NF11,
two SNCAC NC.701 Martinets, three Dassault Mystère
IVs, a Hawker Hurricane, a Stampe S.V.4 and a CM.170
Fouga Magister. By 1962 the school was still flying
old aircraft and the staff were desperately looking for
modern and afterburner-equipped combat machines.
The rotary-wing section was struggling to survive with
little or no equipment and few instructors. The first
Dassault Mirage IIIB came in 1966 – the long-awaited
Mach 2-capable aircraft, with an afterburner, had
finally arrived. This Mirage would be the workhorse
of the school and remained in service until 2002.
By 1968, the fleet was reasonably representative of
current operational equipment. It consisted of 14
fixed-wing machines – including the Dassault Mirage
IIIB, Nord 260, Nord Noratlas and Lockheed T-33
Shooting Star. Its helicopter fleet was made up of an
Aérospatiale Alouette II, one Aérospatiale Alouette III,
one Sud-Ouest Djinn plus a Sikorsky S-55. In 1994,
students could log time on new types including the
Airbus A321 or Mirage 2000 and even test fly foreign
combat aircraft such as the F-16, F/A-18 or Tornado.prototypes and production aircraft from
Airbus, Airbus Helicopters, Dassault and
some light aviation manufacturers. Such
access is a key asset for the school to
offer high-end training and face off tough
competition from the US and the UK.
“We remain at the same level as our
counterparts, in terms of training content
and the variety of aircraft offered to our
students,” said Caroff. “If we fall behind the
US and UK flight test schools, the drop [off
in student numbers] would be immediate.”
Facing this competition, EPNER carefully
cultivates its international reach. The
figures speak for themselves – in 70 years
of existence, the school has trained around
2,100 trainees, of whom 456 (21%) were
overseas students from 24 countries.
International guest instructors are also
employed regularly, a Spanish AirForce captain being among the four fixed-
wing teachers and an Italian officer with the
three rotary-wing instructor team. During the
2015-16 academic year the school hosted a
US Navy pilot, a British helicopter pilot and
two Italian officers: a helicopter pilot and a
flight engineer. Two Spanish flight engineers
also qualified during the same period and were
assigned to the Airbus A400M programme.New technologies
Stiff international competition ensures EPNER
never stops developing its training and
remains on the lookout for new aeronautical30-33 EPNER AFM Oct2018.indd 32 07/09/2018 15:02:18