n. 25B6; noun
a fighter pilot : AIRMAN/AIRWOMAN, flyer; captain, commander, co-pilot, wingman; informal skipper; N. Amer. informal jock; dated aviator, aeronaut. See list.
a harbour pilot : NAVIGATOR, helmsman, steersman, coxswain.
a pilot for a TV series : TRIAL EPISODE; sample, experiment.
25B6; adjective a pilot project : EXPERIMENTAL, exploratory, trial, test, sample, speculative; preliminary.
25B6; verb
he piloted the jet to safety : NAVIGATE, guide, manoeuvre, steer, control, direct, captain, shepherd; fly, aviate; drive; sail; informal skipper.
the questionnaire has been piloted : TEST, trial, try out; assess, investigate, examine, appraise, evaluate.
Pilots
Alcock, John (English) Hughes, Howard (American)
Bader, Douglas (English) Johnson, Amy (English)
Batten, Jean (New Zealand) Lindbergh, Charles (American)
Blériot, Louis (French) Nobile, Umberto (Italian)
Bong, Richard (American) Richthofen, Manfred von (the Red Baron; German)
Brown, Arthur Whitten (Scottish) Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de (French)
Cochran, Jacqueline (American) Smith, Keith (Australian)
Curtiss, Glenn (American) Wright, Orville (American)
Earhart, Amelia (American) Wright, Wilbur (American)
Hinkler, Herbert (Australian) Yeager, Chuck (American)