FTSC News

October is my favorite month for publishing the FTSF, and though I don't explicitly address all the reasons why in this edition, I do link to articles that attempt to explain it. The whimsical format of this month’s newsletter is one part nostalgia, one part history and heritage, one part carnival, and one part thrilling experience that one might expect during the Halloween season.

This month seems special, if only because SpaceX caught an enormous rocket on Sunday, October 13. It seems like something out of science fiction, and it could easily be the opening scene of a horror movie. Maybe someday we will remember this event like we remember other milestones in aerospace and flight test history, events like October 14, 1947, the day we broke the sound barrier.

This month always follows the annual SETP symposium, and Chia introduces some flight test safety papers that readers should check out. Remember, pointing you to these kinds of papers is one of the key goals of this newsletter. Today—as I write this—is the first day of SFTE’s annual symposium, and I hope they have some great papers to share when all is said and done. Chia also introduces new members of the Flight Test Safety Committee inside this edition.

If you want to submit your own whimsical observations about flight test safety and its adjacent news and notices, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or Susan or anyone on the Flight Test Safety Committee.

Finally, scary topics like statistics get a LOT of ink in this edition of the newsletter. Some things are normal. Some phenomena do follow a Gaussian distribution. And some don’t. Reminding ourselves of the flight test facts we do know to be true is a good way to not get fooled by shadows, by innocent things that wear scary masks, and creepy window dressings during the Halloween season.

Sincerely,

Mark Jones Jr.

Editor

For added security and convenience, you can download the pdf here ( https://flighttestfact.com/flight-test-safety-fact-24-10/ and here: https://flighttestsafety.org/ftsc-news/newsletter

Click HERE to view the recordings from the 2024 Flight Test Safety Workshop in Seattle, WA.

Like a flashing white alert message on your MFD, I hope this edition of the FTSF catches you by surprise...in a good way.

This edition is a preview for next week's Flight Test Safety Workshop in Seattle.  Read inside to get suggestions on how to prepare your head and maybe do some reflection that will touch your heart.

As always, we'd love to hear from you, so email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with thoughts and suggestions.

Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
Editor

PS For added safety and convenience you can download the pdf here https://flighttestfact.com/flight-test-safety-fact-24-04/.

The Fairey Rotodyne is an incredible collection of complex systems and technology—thousands of pieces of aircraft all flying in formation together—and it’s old.  It’s amazing how there is “nothing new under the sun with airplane tech.”  If I was going to segregate rotorcraft and powered lift in their own tournament bracket, I would probably include this marvelous invention.  Turbo has some thoughts on The Greatest Aircraft of All Time, and it aligns with the March Madness sweeping the nation (United States) right now.  What aircraft would you include in the tournament brackets pictured here? This edition lets you interact digitally with others in our industry, if you’d like a diversion from work.

Another trend that isn’t quite sweeping the nation is the gradual evolution of online and digital interfaces for text and data.  For example, this edition includes several hyperlinks to updates that should probably be included in the Houle database, sent in from a reader in a letter to the Editor.  One of the offshoots of that conversation included some observations about word docs (not “docx” files, but “doc” files) published by an industry-leading organization [if the shoe fits…].  The point is, no one should be using word docs if they want people to use their docs.  There are so many better ways to do things, and that’s my opinion but it’s also a thread woven into Houle database conversation. 

Speaking of better ways to do things, if you have any ideas, we would love to hear them.  Send your thoughts to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and we will share them in a future edition.

Sincerely,

Mark Jones Jr.
Editor

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

Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP 50 – 50th Episode Modeling Risk

This Podcast is sponsored by Time2climb Training and Consulting

If I close my eyes, I can picture the outline of an airplane against the glowing fog in the background created by hangar lights on the other side of an icy ramp in North Dakota.  I can feel the cold air on my face and imagine the steam exhaled from my mouth.  You may have a similar memory.

I can also see the pristine white Canadian fields, blanketed by snow and the slushy centerline of the runway at International Falls Airport.  I remember the waves of anti-ice fluid flowing back along the wing, and I can almost feel the difference in force required to rotate the aircraft.

Those two memories are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, the host of memories of cold weather testing, and this edition covers some of those topics in A Limited Survey of Cold Weather Flight Test Safety - Three introductory observations about Cold Weather and Flight Test, which flows right into the next features: Sample of Cold Weather Flight Test Safety Papers, and an account of Lockheed F-117 Cold Weather Testing.

There’s much more in this issue as Flight Test Safety Fact and the podcast both celebrate major milestones, including some of the data that describes our journey.  As always, we crave your feedback, which you can send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  If you have a memory you’d like to recount, we’d be delighted to share it in a future edition.

Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
Editor

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

Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP 49 – Battle of the X Pilots (Part 3)

This Podcast is sponsored by Time2climb Training and Consulting

Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP 48 – Battle of the X Pilots (Part 2)

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Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel

This Podcast is sponsored by Time2climb Training and Consulting