Noun
test flight (plural test flights)
(aviation) a proving flight; usually of a prototype of a new aircraft design before it goes into production.
Then there was the challenge to keep doing better and better, to fly the best test flight that anybody had ever flown. That led to my being recognized as one of the more experienced test pilots, and that led to the astronaut business. Alan Shepard
Having the opportunity to fly the first flight of something like a space shuttle was the ultimate test flight. Robert Crippen
A Boeing 737 Max 7 lands at Boeing Field in Seattle after a test flight to evaluate the MCAS software fix. Source: Internet
According to unverified sources, during a 26 March 1974 test flight a Concorde reached its maximum speed ever of convert (Mach 2.23) at an altitude of convert, and during subsequent test flights reached maximum altitude of convert. Source: Internet
All those vehicles will depend on Stratolaunch’s aircraft, which made its first, and to date only, test flight nearly a year ago. Source: Internet
A flying sports car that can go from road vehicle to aircraft in just three minutes has flown 1,500ft in the air over Slovakia as part of a test flight, its developers say. Source: Internet