Michael ) wrote:

In my opinion, it's an absolutely unacceptable decision. Test flights
are day-VFR events. I've had things go wrong on test flights before,
and they didn't always have an obvious connection to the maintenance
being performed.

That is the advice I follow. I recall returning to my home class C airport
one sunny, VFR day last fall when there was a nervous call to approach from
another pilot flying a Beech Sundowner. He had just departed and was
requesting an immediate landing back at the airport.

The controller asked if he was having problems, to which he answered that
he had to work hard to prevent the aircraft from entering a steep left
bank. He did not declare an emergency, but wanted priority to land.

His landing was uneventful and he pulled into the same FBO I keep my
aircraft. After I secured my aircraft, I walked over to this pilot, who
was still sitting in his aircraft, and told him I had heard his plight on
the frequency. He described the problem he was having, then followed the
description up with, "this was my test flight after the aircraft had just
come out of annual."


--
Peter