pilot vs preparatory

pilot

adj
  • Made or used as a test or demonstration of capability. 

  • Being a vehicle to warn other road users of the presence of an oversize vehicle/combination. 

  • Used to control or activate another device. 

noun
  • A person who steers a ship, a helmsman. 

  • A pilot light. 

  • A short plug, sometimes made interchangeable, at the end of a counterbore to guide the tool. 

  • A guide book for maritime navigation. 

  • A racing driver. 

  • An instrument for detecting the compass error. 

  • A person authorised to drive such a vehicle during an escort. 

  • Something serving as a test or trial. 

  • The heading or excavation of relatively small dimensions, first made in the driving of a larger tunnel. 

  • A sample episode of a proposed TV series produced to decide if it should be made or not. If approved, typically the first episode of an actual TV series. 

  • A person who is in charge of the controls of an aircraft. 

  • One who flies a kite. 

  • A cowcatcher. 

  • A person who knows well the depths and currents of a harbor or coastal area, who is hired by a vessel to help navigate the harbor or coast. 

  • A guide or escort through an unknown or dangerous area. 

  • A pilot vehicle. 

verb
  • To guide (a vessel) through coastal waters. 

  • To serve as the leading locomotive on a double-headed train. 

  • To control (an aircraft or watercraft). 

  • To test or have a preliminary trial of (an idea, a new product, etc.) 

preparatory

adj
  • Of or pertaining to preparation, having the purpose of making something or someone ready, preparative. 

How often have the words pilot and preparatory occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )