This month we talked with Tobias van Esselstyn, Director of Flight Test Engineering at Gulfstream about some of the challenges today's test teams face and ideas on how to meet those challenges.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel
Tony LeVier Flight Test Safety Award
This Podcast is sponsored by Time2climb Training and Consulting
“Prediction is hard, especially about the future.” This pithy quote is humorous, but in some sense, we can create the future we intend, especially when it comes to flight test safety.
You will find two more pithy quotes in this edition of the Flight Test Safety Fact, and a research group attempts to predict emerging hazards in commercial aviation. Their report and methodology are both relevant, and they also illustrate another important issue, something addressed in a column aptly titled, “First Things First.”
Turbo asks us to sing “Auld Lang Syne” with him and also celebrates three years of podcasting.
Speaking of pithy quotes, there is an important question that warrants your feedback inside this edition.
Finally, a look back at the London FTSW and feedback from the last few months of last year round out this edition.
Happy New Year. I look forward to hearing your one-liners as 2023 kicks off.
Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
@FlightTestFact
flighttestfact.com
Editor
Download the newsletter here.
Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP37 - New Testing of Old Aircraft
We close out the year and continue our conversation with Dodge Bailey from last month talking about flying the vintage aircraft in the Shuttleworth collection. Follow the link below to learn more about the collection's unique aircraft.
Link to the Shuttleworth Collection
Happy and safe Holidays to all and we will be back in 2023!
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel
This Podcast is sponsored by Time2climb Training and Consulting
Sometimes when I write these newsletters, I feel like I am banging two rocks together, creating sparks and attempting to direct them towards the dry, feathery threads of material, hoping that something will catch fire. My hope is that something in your heart, your mind, will catch fire, some thread of passion and curiosity. In other moments, I feel as if I have to unwind some of the threads of the rich fabric of flight test safety, pulling the threads apart so that the sparks will be able to set them on fire individually.
There are many such sparks and threads in this edition of the Flight Test Safety Fact, and as we end the fourth year of publication of the newsletter for the Flight Test Safety Committee, I point it out on purpose, reminding the reader that this is one of several objectives of the project. I don’t know if I have ever stated this objective explicitly, but I want to light a fire.
In this edition, we mention topics that were addressed in depth in other forums, because we intend to weave those threads (those topics) together—the DARPA and Lockheed Martin Optionally Piloted Aircraft (OPA) is one of those threads. It weaves into the fabric of OPA and history and the main theme of flight test safety, which then points us to a NASA book on the topic of unmanned aircraft. The book is a vein of gold ore. This edition also mentions articles and past editions of the newsletter and the efforts of late members and hopes aloud that someone will pick up the mantle.
This edition also includes feedback from readers from the October newsletter and another request from a reader for help with a safety survey. These are some of the oft overlooked but incredibly valuable parts of this project.
As we end another year, I hope you will share your thoughts and observations with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., an attempt to add your sparks or fuel to the fire.
Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
@FlightTestFact
flighttestfact.com
Editor
Download the newsletter here.
Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP36 - Teaching New Pilots Old Planes
This month we talk with test pilot Roger "Dodge" Bailey about flying the incredible assortment of aircraft in the Shuttleworth collection. They fly these aircraft every summer in public demonstrations. He discusses unique characteristics of those aircraft, their approach to training pilots/maintaining currency, and the occasional need to conduct flight tests on those aircraft.
Here is a Link to the Shuttleworth Collection
Link to our Flight Test Safety Committee Reference on Airshow Guidance
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel
This Podcast is sponsored by Time2climb Training and Consulting
Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP35 - Halloween Episode: Frightful Flights Terrifying Test Points Ghostly Gremlins
Join host Art Tomassetti as he shares stories of frightful flights, terrifying test points and ghostly gremlins. This is a special Halloween edition on the Flight Test Safety Podcast.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel
This Podcast is sponsored by Time2climb Training and Consulting
Just this week, all of the FTEs flew north for the winter (I mean...annual symposium in London, Ontario), and a week earlier, the international Flight Test Safety Workshop ended in the UK. Both meetings resulted in countless discussions that deserve their own columns in this newsletter, but instead of a technical paper, this month features something light-hearted and fun...orange you glad?
Orange wire, orange flight suits, and orange paint on our airplanes...each is related to safety, but where does legend meet fact?
Ghouls and goblins might be the source of Halloween fright, but another thing that scares us is the complexity of today's modern systems and the effect of unknown unknowns on flight test safety. You can help Ben Luther research the topic by facing your fears and taking his survey.
If you have your own photos of Frankenstein aircraft or flight test modifications, send them our way. If there is a flight test safety paper we should know about from the SFTE symposium or European FTSW, send that to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Happy Halloween!
Mark Jones Jr.
Editor
Download the newsletter here.
I spent part of the holiday on Monday shooting sport clays with a shotgun. Before we started, I was talking to one of the instructors who learned the skill while hunting ducks. That's a tough way to learn on the job, but it's another example of "implicit learning." Implicit learning is when we learn by doing rather than deliberate practice, and it applies to how we do flight test safety. The first article contemplates these ideas during an afternoon of folding laundry, which is, incidentally, a relevant fact.
The second article is an introduction to the EVTOL committee. At press time, I noticed that the newsletter still has a typographical error: the name of the committee should appear with a capital E. If the article and the newsletter attachments constrain you to reach out to the committee--and I hope they do--have them explain why they selected a capital E. They explained it to me, and I forgot to make the edits. Also note that "constrain" is another word for motivate. (English is a strange language.)
Now that I've given you several sundry observations, I'll close by encouraging you to read Turbo Talk and listen to 2 podcasts about the same topic with a host of characters you probably know, both of which you'll find in this edition.
Send questions and observations about the English language to the editor, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
Editor
Download the newsletter here.
Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP33 - 3Q (Part 2)
In this episode we look back in history at a historic flight of the X-15 and pick up our flight test discussion about 3Q.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel
Direct download link to the Sep 2019 FTSF that has Mark’s article about 3Q
Link to SFTE International Symposium Registration:
This Podcast is sponsored by Time2climb Training and Consulting
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Please pass this info on to your colleagues and friends within the flight test community.
Thank you all for your patience and support for the Flight Test Safety Database.
Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP 32 - 3Q
In this episode I go out on location for a flight test safety discussion about predicting the future, assessing safety culture and more. Join Mark Jones Jr., Vanessa Rebello, and myself at the 3rd Planet Mothership for part 1 of this interview. (I even get to be one of the interviewees for a little bit)
Here is a direct download link to the Sep 2019 FTSF that has Mark’s article about 3Q: https://flighttestsafety.org/images/Flight_Test_Safety_Fact_19-09.pdf
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel
The other day I ran into my stats professor, and I said, "what are the chances?" Almost unbelievably,I happened upon my geography teacher from elementary, and she said, "small world."**
I joke, but understanding the limitations of the 2d risk matrix and exploring alternatives are not a joke. This month, a member of our profession who doubles as a cyber-acquisition professional shares what he learned about risk from that particular domain and encourages us to think about it. While this particular article was under review, someone suggested adding an illustration. I think that's a helpful suggestion, but I also believe that taking the time to draw your own is equally helpful.
When do we stop what we are doing long enough to draw a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system? I ask this, because research shows that "getting your hands dirty" with the data or idea is more fruitful than dashboards and automated systems.
There's also a recap of the Workshop, a link to the videos, and two months worth of podcasts on which to catch up.
While you are at it, print a copy of the newsletter and put it in the breakroom, because we are still trying to Reach Everyone.
**Twitter is a great place to find viral threads with hilarious puns, and someone should probably be dropping some flight test humor.
Send questions and jokes to the editor, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
Editor
For added convenience and security, you can download the newsletter here.
Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP30 - My Five Safety Lessons from Top Gun
This month we will look at how pop culture (well one fairly popular movie from the 80s anyway) can provide lessons in safety. And in our look back in aviation history we will talk about the Dornier DO 31 VTOL Jet Transport
Link to Drury Wood bio
Major Drury W. Wood | National Air and Space Museum (si.edu)
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel
Flight Test Safety Committee Podcast Channel - EP 31 - How Do You Do Safety?
This month I spoke with Steve Bush and Stan Swan from the Columbia Aviation Association (CAA) and talked about one of the approaches they have to improving flight safety. You can learn more about the CAA in the link below.
Home - Columbia Aviation Association (caapilots.com)
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel
This month we expand our look back in aviation history on the anniversary of the last flight of the XB-70 Valkyrie. We will talk about this amazing aircraft and hear from the pilot who flew the first flight.
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Podbean, Google Play, and Amazon Music: FTSCChannel