Flight Test Safety Committee

The Flight Test Safety Committee (FTSC) was formed jointly in November 1994 by members of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), the Society of Flight Test Engineers (SFTE) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). These and numerous additional organizations presently comprise the FTSC. The purpose of the FTSC is to initiate and sustain a flight test related safety organization intended to promote flight safety, reduce the risk of mishap, promote risk reduction management and continually improve the profession's communication and coordination.
About FTSC

Flight Test Safety Fact 21-05

I once heard someone say that when you get your pilot certificate (or wings), you get issued two metaphorical buckets: A bucket full of luck and an empty bucket labeled "experience." The object is to fill the latter one up before the first is empty.

This month, we ask you to consider "Lucky, or Good?" That question will take you to a presentation given during the April Virtual Symposium hosted by SETP, and there is at least one other talk that we recommend in this issue.

While you are online, go ahead and register for the Flight Test Safety Workshop. You will find the theme and a link to the registration inside.

As always, we would love to hear from you. Send us a note. Thank you for continuing to tell people about the newsletter, and keep sharing.

Sincerely,

Mark Jones Jr.
Editor

For added convenience and security, you can download the newsletter here.

New Podcast - Batteries Included: Test Pilots Talk About the X-57 (Part 2)

Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel – New Episode - Batteries Included: Test Pilots Talk About the X-57 (Part 2)

This month we have part 2 of the interview with NASA Test Pilots Tim Williams and Wayne Ringelberg talking about the work they are doing on the X-57. They share lesson learned and some of the preparations they are doing as they approach first flight. 

Wayne Ringelberg Bio

Tim Williams Bio

General NASA X-57 Site

NASA X-57 Fact Sheet

Feature on the X-57 Simulator


Listen Now! http://flighttestsafety.org/ftsc-news/flight-test-safety-podcast-channel
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, and Google Play: FTSCChannel

New Podcast - Batteries Included: Test Pilots Talk About the X-57 (Part 1)

Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel – New Episode - Batteries Included: Test Pilots Talk About the X-57 (Part 1)

This month we have part one of a two part interview with NASA Test Pilots Tim Williams and Wayne Ringelberg talking about the work they are doing on the X-57. They share lesson learned and some of the preparations they are doing as they approach first flight.  We will also take a peek at this month’s Flight Test Safety Fact and highlight some upcoming events.

Wayne Ringelberg Bio

Tim Williams Bio

General NASA X-57 Site

NASA X-57 Fact Sheet

Feature on the X-57 Simulator


Listen Now! http://flighttestsafety.org/ftsc-news/flight-test-safety-podcast-channel
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, and Google Play: FTSCChannel

Flight Test Safety Fact 21-03

If you could travel back in time (something Turbo discusses inside this month’s edition) to continue your work as a flight test professional, but you can’t tell anyone that you are from the future, and further suppose that all you brought with you is your memory, what would you work on? And would it be easier or harder than you think?

I encountered this interesting thought experiment in a blog post that made several profound observations, but one really stood out:  “The idea of taking the output of a function and sticking it back in, over and over, is really simple. But nobody looked into it deeply until around 50 years ago.”

Sometimes we overlook simple ideas.

People have written whole books about why we should not overlook simple ideas.  In this month, however, you will only encounter a short op-ed introducing a simple idea that is statistically rigorous, and it applies to complex and complicated fields alike, including the intersection of artificial intelligence and flight test which continues to emerge.

This month’s editions highlights a formal accident report of an autonomous flying car crash and two more sundry observations from my ongoing survey of flight test news.  Finally, Turbo assigns homework, and the pdf includes three attachments in the paperclip menu of adobe acrobat.

So if you slow down long enough to enjoy this edition, let us know by email.

 

Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
Editor

For added convenience and security, you can download the newsletter here.