FTSC News

Sometimes I ponder the “days of yore” and the way scientists of the time corresponded in writing, together with the ad hoc postal system of the day.  Today, we correspond by email in near real time.  I say “near real time” because who among us responds that quickly to all of our emails?!

This month, three readers have corresponded with us by sharing their letters to the editor and their ideas, with you.  This month is one of my favorite kinds of FTSF.  

I hope you will respond.  Perhaps you have an idea that differs from my idea (github) of crowdsourcing flight test mishap data, that differs from Chia’s idea (AI/LLM) of aggregating flight test content, or Hunter’s idea (the author of the first L2tE).  

Maybe your thoughts mirror Mike’s thoughts about an SETP talk or the way the topic of the presentation illuminated your own experience, highlighted the deeper meaning beneath something you did but weren’t quite sure why.  He wrote the second L2tE.

Or there’s a chance that you want to speak up about the impact of someone’s intellectual legacy, the shadow it cast on your way of thinking—the effect Sandy’s article had on me.  His was the third.

There are many ways to do this, but here are three suggestions: 1) emailing us with your feedback; 2) email the authors directly (do you know how very meaningful that is?); 3) print out the newsletter and share it with someone in your office.  

We hope you enjoy it and that it makes you think—send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if it does.

Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
Editor

PS For added security you can download the pdf here.

What does safety sound like?  That’s the first question in the first edition of the Flight Test Safety Fact in the New Year, so Happy New Year and welcome back.

You also get another reminder about the looming deadlines for the Flight Test Safety Workshop in this month’s newsletter.  I’ll take this opportunity to encourage you to print out the newsletter and leave it in the lunchroom, so new people can read it too.  The FTSC is always ready to add email addresses of new subscribers to our distribution.

Ben Luther, a long time contributor, returns to the pages of the FTSF with a letter to the editor about “qualitative approaches” to risk management based on lengthy and detailed research, and if you want to read more, he has a short journal article on the topic too.  This edition also announces the annual flight test safety awards (including a new one), and it gives you guidance on how to submit.

There’s a new column that introduces one of our newest board members and links to an article he shared about “communicating” after reading this month’s feature.  Chia Chat and a bonus flight test fact wrap up this month’s edition.

As always, we’d love to hear from you.  Email the editor, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or any member of the board.  

Sincerely,
Mark Jones Jr.
Editor

You can download the newsletter here.

Sometimes it's the sounds that remind us of some near-miss or safety lesson we've learned.  Other times it's a sensation, like a smell or the cold air, or both as the case may be in winter months.  In both cases, this month's edition of the Flight Test Safety Fact has the kinds of reminders that will heighten your own senses and take you back.

This month also features information on both Workshops planned for next year and two podcasts from Turbo (including one major milestone).

If you read something that makes you think, we'd love to hear from you.  Email the editor, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or any member of the Committee to share your thoughts.  You'll never know where it may lead.

Sincerely,

Mark Jones Jr.
Editor

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

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.