Progress made on the Long Term Materials Test Program during its first year is summarized and the test planning required to perform the Qualification Test is documented. The objective of the Qualification Test is to check out the proper functioning of the Test Rig and to demonstrate its capability to produce a representative PFB off-gas environment for long term candidate-material testing. During the first year of the program, the project has progressed from the concept stage to the start of construction. Ninety-five percent of the equipment has been ordered and renovations to accommodate the test rig have been initiated at the Malta Site. The initial effort focused on the test rig configuration and selection of the candidate turbine materials. The preliminary design phase was officially culminated by the presentation and acceptance of the Preliminary Operations Plan to DOE during April 1980. By mid-June, 1981, the design of the major components was substantially complete allowing a detailed external design review to be performed. The design was accepted, and purchase orders for the major components were placed. In parallel with the design effort, two materials-screening tests have been initiated. One thousand hours of testing on the oil-fired small burner rig and the first 250-h segment on the erosion/corrosion simulator has been completed.