An experimental aircraft is an aircraft that has not yet been fully proven in flight. Often, this implies than new aerospace technologies are being tested on the aircraft, though the label is more broad. In the eyes of the United States Federal Aviation Administration, the label "experimental" is also applied to any vehicle that has been hand-built by enthusiasts rather than manufactured, tested, and certified by a company (see Experimental Aircraft). Government organizations often require new aircraft designs to be physically marked as experimental, and extra flight testing is usually required before passengers (who are not pilots themselves) can be allowed onboard for a ride. At least 25,000 experimental aircraft are known to exist in the U.S. alone, though many are based on conventional designs.

See also

• List of experimental aircraft
• X-plane

External links

• Experimental Aircraft Association