St Louis - SFTE on the Half Shell



The gamble paid off!  Even with COVID rising and sponsors pulling out, the board of the Society of Flight Test Engineers chose to go ahead with holding a hybrid symposium of both virtual and face-to-face attendees.  Listening to the amazing talks and connecting with professionals I had 3 big takeaways:

1.  There are some awesome and young aerospace talent in the business

2. In person events offer some important intangibles for communicating and connecting. 

3. Hybrid events can work to connect more of a body and disseminate knowledge 

My colleague and long-time friend James Sergeant (currently Director of Virgin Space Flight Test) received the prestigious Kelly Johnson award and the Bell team received the James S. McDonnel award for the flight test accomplishments of the Bell V-280.  Both awards richly deserved by the recipients.  And I got to meet board members whom I have been working but never met in person before.  Such a brave new world we are living in!


SFTE Board Members (L to R) Kevin Welch, Yours Truly, James Sergeant, Jennifer Uchida, 
Mark Mondt, Dr. Vanessa Bond
 

Location: St. Louis, MO, USA

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