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...

Lago Maggiore  Back in Italia for my second annual guitar workshop in the Dolomites.  Spent the first few days visiting with friends living around Lago Maggiore in Arona and Venegono.   Arona is the perfect spot to dine Italian and enjoy a mountain lake view.  There was a new restaurant just sound of Arona centro, on a boat. Really a great place to hang out with my good friend Matteo. The food and outdoors never disappoint. Well, almost never. My friend Miriam treated me to supposedly great pizza at a restaurant near the east bank of Lago di Commabio. Honestly, I like Blaze Pizza better than the pizza in Italy.   Tuesday morning, I began my six-hour drive east on the autostrada to Pipistrel Aircraft manufacturing company, located in Gorizia (near the Slovenian border northeast of Venice), to give a talk to their flight testers.  Two hours out from my destination, it happened. I stopped at an Autogrill for a "pitstop."  When I stood up from th...

  In July, I was invited to speak at the AIAA AVIATION Symposium, in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The Aviation Symposium is a gathering of more than 2,500 professionals shaping the future of aerospace. A major theme was navigating the future, with a spotlight on sustainability and AI—two forces that will profoundly affect not only air vehicles, but also fuels, propulsion, training, and air traffic management.  AIAA does it right.  Lots of resources.  I shared my perspective on the FTE challenges (complexity, AI, and lack of professional standards) in a 45-minute talk, which really gave me a chance to flesh out the topics.  I also joined a panel on sustainability. While not my area of expertise, my key message resonated: every model, roadmap, and visionary design must eventually be tested to prove its viability. Bringing flight testers into the process early is critical to making sound decisions that will propel our organizations toward more effective, safe, and effi...