Sojourner - Traveling with the “Canman”

  A lovely autumn day in Fairfax, Virginia, with DC grandkids.  dancing with grandkids at an outdoor rock concert.  A group of middle-aged men playing 80's hits led off the concert.  But they quit too soon.  And after a 30-minute wait, they were followed by a metal rock band from Germany doing great renditions of AC-DC and others.  The hilarious and wonderful surprise. It was the same group- all dressed up!  My dream gig! The next day, playing like a kid on the playground with DC grandkids

The SFTE Symposium- One Year into my term as Prez.    My message to members below.  Enlightenment. Inspiration. Innovation. Energy. Those were my key takeaways from the 56th SFTE International Symposium in Savannah. From CRM to test techniques to AI, every session reminded us how vital flight test engineers are to the safe, effective, and visionary development of aerospace systems. The speakers’ insights challenged us to keep learning, keep sharing, and keep looking out for one another in this inherently Risky Business. The SFTE  Coastal Empire Chapter  hosted an outstanding event in part to a dedicated FTE  Chaska Moon  who steered it to success despite the government shutdown challenges. Congratulations to all our  Award Recipients  – your work exemplifies SFTE’s mission to advance the art and science of flight testing.   Gradulations the newest SFTE Fellows, Paul Koks and Guy Gratton  The SFTE “tent” is expanding — welcoming...

  Travelled to Nashville to celebrate the 3-year birthday of one of my 8 grandkids and visit with her 5-year-old brother.  The birthday party was held on an animal petting farm (horses, bulls, chickens, goats, sheep).  Everything for this amazing child is a curiosity with little if any fear.  The wonder of a 3-year-old is that they (at times) astound with their ability to think and communicate.  There is no better way to feel young and alive!

  I landed in London, UK, to see old friends and tour flight test organizations. First evening, I visited my old buddy, Dane Handley, from the days of my exchange tour way back in 1993! The next day, I rented a "Bond" car and prepared myself for driving the opposite side of the road in the rain with minimal guidance from a backup mobile phone with intermittent GPS guidance.   The trip was successful in that I made it to all my destinations with only an occasional irate driver upset that I was in the wrong lane or going too slow as I relied on dead reckoning and memory to navigate NARROW country roads, continually hitting the left curb trying to avoid oncoming traffic.  It did require to occasionally find a coffee shop with Wi-Fi to get reoriented and back on track.   My first stop was the Empire Test Pilot School at Boscombe Down, now run by QinetiQ. ETPS has an impressive stable of aircraft, including the AVRO RJ70, which facilitates the training of multip...