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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Greetings from sunny and humid Pax River.  I’m looking forward to my new assignment with Boeing here with the P-8A program and also looking forward to getting involved with our East Coast members. Well 2010 continues to fly by with outstanding symposia in San Diego, at Pax River, Wright Patt and another very successful Flight Test Safety Workshop in San Jose.  Many thanks to all of you who organized and ran those events as well as those of you who supported them. All top quality venues. Upcoming shortly are section symposia at Wichita and the Annual European Symposium in Cambridge just over a month away. I hope many of you take the opportunity to attend these events. Since the last newsletter the balloting on the two Constitutional changes has been counted and both changes were passed.  So now it will only take a two thirds vote of an investigating committee to expel a member where it used to require a unanimous vote – and you have already been asked if you’d like to vote electronically instead of by snail mail. Another important upcoming event will be the Special Business Meeting on June 11^th at National Test Pilot School where the new slate of officers will be nominated.  Immediately following that event you’ll get to vote your new Board of Directors in. And not very far down the road now is the Annual Symposium. Eel Morey and his committee have been working hard to make this another incredible event.  Be sure to mark it on your calendar and make your reservations.

See you there.
Terry E. Tomeny (F)
Boeing

SYMPOSIUM/MEETING INFORMATION 

THE SOCIETY OF EXPERIMENTAL TEST PILOTS
SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING

DATE:
Friday, 11 June 2010 

PLACE:    
National Test Pilot School
1030 Flightline Road, Mojave, CA 93501
661.824.2977

TIME:
6:00pm - Social Hour, 7:00pm - Business Meeting, 7:30pm – Dinner 

TAB: 
$20.00 (Includes dinner, wine and beer).  

The SETP Nominating Committee has prepared a slate of officers for 2010/2011 from SETP members who have expressed an interest in the position and has called a special meeting to afford the membership an opportunity to make nominations from the floor.  Those nominated from the floor must have been contacted in advance to determine that they would be willing and able to serve if elected.  Below is the proposed slate of officers.

For President-Elect: 
Steve Rainey (AF), Boeing
Jeremy P. Tracy (F), AgustaWestland

For Vice President:   
David Nils Larson (AF), NASA/DFRC
Timothy J. Morey (AF), CAPT, USN 

For Secretary:
Doug Benjamin (F), Boeing
Robert B. Stoney (AF), FAA 

For Treasurer:  
Troy Fontaine (M), Department of Homeland Security
Maurice Girard (AF), Cessna

For Legal Officer:
Kevin E. Prosser (AF),  USAF
 Mike Wallace (AF), Boeing 

The business portion of the meeting is open to Membership only (SETP Membership and Corporate Representatives).  In order to establish a quorum, your support is essential.  The remainder of the program will be open to spouses and guests.

Click here to register on-line.  For catering purposes, we ask that reservations be made by 8 June 2010.  We hope to see you in Mojave!

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Central Section Symposium
18 June 2010
Wichita, Kansas 

This is a reminder that the Central Section Symposium will be held on Friday, 18 June 2010 at the Old Town Conference Center across the street from The Hotel at Old Town, 830 E 1st Street North, Wichita, Kansas.  The Symposium will include all day sessions and a luncheon with a keynote speaker.  Marc Mannella (AF) of Bombardier is the Chairman for this event. 

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS:  A small block of rooms has been reserved at The Hotel at Old Town at $109.00 per night without breakfast or $119.00 with a full hot breakfast.  Parking and in-room internet are included in the room rate.  Reservations may be made by calling 1-877-265-3869.  When calling, please mention that you are attending the Society of Experimental Test Pilots Symposium to receive the negotiated rate.

TECHNICAL SESSION: Continental breakfast will be served at 7:00am in the Keen Kutter A Room of the Old Town Conference Center across the street from The Hotel at Old Town.  The Symposium will be held in Keen Kutter B beginning at 8:00am. Click here for more information and to register for this event. 

SYMPOSIUM AGENDA

Registration / Pastries / Coffee

Welcome / Administrative

Marc Mannella (AF), Bombardier
Symposium Chairman

Opening Remarks

Moe Girard (AF), Cessna
Central Section Chairman

Flight Control / Fly-By-Wire Design Consideration
Tony Lambregts, FAA CSTA for Advanced Control Systems

An Overview of How Part 23/25 Type Certification Requirements Relate to Training and Operational Requirements
Gerry Baker (AF), FAA Wichita ACO Flight Test Branch Manager

Morning Break

Recovery at Stall Warning: “Just Add Power”?
Dave Lewandowski (AF) and Aaron Tobias (AM), Cessna

Operational Credit for EVS, SVS and CVS
Mark Schlegel (F), Bombardier

Luncheon and Keynote Speaker
Leading GA Through Turbulence
Dave Brant, SETP Member and Sr. Vice-President of Product Engineering, Cessna

AT-6 Development Program - First Flight to Combat Systems Demonstration
Dan Hinson (M), Hawker Beechcraft and LtCol Keith Colmer, USAF (M)

SkyCatcher Flight Test Program and Lessons Learned During Spin Testing
Dale Bleakney (M), Cessna

Afternoon Break

December 32nd, 1980 (Lear Fan First Flight)
Dennis Newton (AF), Consultant DER and Former Chief Test Pilot for Lear Fan Corporation

Presentation of the Lloyd C. Stearman Award
Best Paper Selection Committee

Happy Hour

This is a reminder that the European Symposium is being held from 13 to 16 July in and around the historic university town of Cambridge. The Symposium itself, including all technical sessions will take place at the impressive Imperial War Museum at Duxford, just outside the city centre. 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, plans for the Technical Tour have had to be changed.  The tour will now visit the historic Shuttleworth Collection.  The tour will be preceded by a briefing from the collection's Chief Test Pilot, Trevor Roche before coach transport (30 mins) to Old Warden aerodrome where we will spend a couple of hours engrossed in this historic and unique collection of Edwardian aircraft and the extensive preservation activities that surround them.  Coaches will return us to Cambridge in good time to prepare for the evening social reception in King's College.  For a taste of Shuttleworth please follow this link: http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttleworth-collection/shuttleworth-collection.asp.

Themed in the “40s” to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the culminating event of the 2010 European Symposium is to be a Gala Dinner to be held seated in amongst the aircraft in the atmospheric American Air Museum display hangar on Friday 16^th July.  Transport will be provided from the preferred hotels at 7pm and returning after the event.  The dinner will be preceded with a reception and an opportunity to wander among the historic aircraft on display in the venue.  There will be music of the era throughout the evening, with dancing to a Big Band after the presentation of symposium prizes.  After the dinner, the guest speaker will be the renowned spitfire test pilot, Mr Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown.  Registrations should be made in advance with your on-line registration.  Dress will be military Mess Dress for serving personnel, Black tie / Dinner Jacket preferred for non-serving and retired, and appropriate formal wear for ladies.

Click here for complete details and to register for the events.  Please note that early registration will end on 1 June 2010.  After this date the registration fee will increase by $100.

The committee is still accepting abstracts.  Those interested in presenting should submit an abstract, no later than, 31 May 2010 to:

HOTEL ACCOMMODATION: Rooms have been reserved at a range of hotels - Click here for hotel information and to book your hotel on-line.

Call for Papers:

 The symposium committee is still accepting abstracts.  Abstracts should be a 50-word or more outline of the specific scope and highlight of your chosen topic.  If you are interested in presenting a paper, please submit and abstract ASAP.

PLEASE NOTE:  PAPERS MUST BE TECHNICALLY-ORIENTED RATHER THAN SALES-ORIENTED.   PAPERS CONCERNING FLIGHT TEST SAFETY ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.

New Venue for Friday Night Reception!

The S&B committee is off the ground planning all of the details behind the 54th Annual Symposium and Banquet to be held at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim, CA 22-25 September 2010.  The committee is changing the venue for the Friday night reception to Festival Arena located within Disneyland Park.  As a result, those attending this popular Friday night social gathering will have full access to the entire park and all of it's attractions from 5PM until the park closes at 12 PM, with a two hour dinner planned (exact times to be determined).  Although we have all enjoyed Soaring Over California over the last several years, feedback from attendees has indicated that it might be time for a change.  The new outdoor venue is considerably farther away from the Grand Californian, and the committee wants to ensure that transportation is available to those members who may need assistance to and from the new venue.  Transportation will not be provided for all attendees of the Friday night reception, only those who require it.  There will be provisions during the registration process to identify those members and their guests who desire to take advantage of this Disney provided service.  You're not going to want to miss this year's Annual Symposium and Banquet.  See you in Anaheim!

Tuesday 28 – Wednesday 29 September 2010
The history of flight testing is full of examples of both "professional" and "amateur" approaches to the subject. What makes the difference? This workshop's theme is an attempt to focus discussion on flight tests where the participants' skill sets, knowledge, and experience levels proved critical to safe and successful program completion.

The scope of this annual conference is such that it will seek contributions that cover all current research, preference will be given to presentations that highlight test programs where the linkage between participants' backgrounds and the test outcome can be established and critical skills identified for the test professionals involved including test pilots, test engineers, or test technicians. 

Call for Papers Deadline: Monday 24 May 2010

The Organizing Committee invites prospective authors to submit abstracts of original work for presentation at the Conference.

Full details can be found here.

Corporate Profiling Opportunities & Exhibition Space - For more information and details of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities please call Gemma Crabb on +44 (0)20 7670 4345 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

SETP FOUNDATION NEWS

The SETP Foundation has been providing sponsorship to high school students to attend SETP Symposia.  This year the Foundation sponsored two students to attend the San Diego Symposium.  Below is a letter we received from one student expressing his gratitude:

Dear SETP Foundation,

I wanted to thank you once again for giving me the opportunity to attend the symposium. I truly enjoyed the event, and was given a whole new perspective on the Aviation Industry. The variety of professionals there and the high ranking Navy and Air Force officials was impressive. The symposium was incredible and I walked away with a greater knowledge of the tasks and challenges faced by test pilots everyday.

Again, I cannot express my gratitude for being able to attend, and I look forward to staying in contact with you and the rest of the organization.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Hilliard

The East Coast Section sponsored the 26th East Coast Symposium on April 16, 2010 on board Patuxent River Naval Air Station.  As in past years, the symposium was a one-day event that was conducted in coordination with USN Test Pilot School Alumni Association Reunion, so that members may easily attend both functions. The symposium was well attended, with 144 SETP members, USNTPS students and flight test professionals taking part in the event.

Under incredibly sunny skies, the morning kicked off at the wonderful U. S. Naval Test Pilot School facility with a delicious continental breakfast. After this chance to meet up with old friends and socialize, the morning technical session began in the USNTPS Auditorium.  It included excellent briefings from government, industry, and academia.  Papers detailed the rapid prototyping and flight testing of the Calspan Airborne Systems Laboratory, flight testing of the Thrush S2R-T34 AG Aircraft, and Norway’s infrared seeker captive carriage flight test program.  Presentations covered the test team’s results and lessons learned.

Following the morning presentations, the participants stepped outside onto the flight line to get a close look at the cockpits of aircraft new to USNTPS on static display.  These included the UH-72 Lakota utility helicopter, the Super Hornet, the “Strike Saab” flying Systems Lab, and the T-6B Texan. Also on hand was a brand new Cirrus SR-22 that was flown in by Mr. Gary Black (M).

The venue for the luncheon and the afternoon session was the brand new Pax River “River’s Edge” Conference Center overlooking the Marina and Patuxent River.  The guest speaker at the luncheon was Rear Admiral David “Decoy” Dunaway, USN, Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force. RDML Dunaway provided an excellent speech on the continued need for both operational and development testing, and how communication and coordination is essential to ensure capable and effective future weapons systems arrive in the fleet as quickly as possible.

The afternoon technical session consisted of more outstanding presentations.  Flight test results of a synthetic vision system to combat brownout for tactical helicopters as well as synthetic “Green” fuels testing in the T-6 were presented.  Also, an insightful brief on collation of natural and man-made disasters with flight test mishaps and near mishaps was provided, as was a general overview of the developmental Cirrus “Vision” personal jet.    The afternoon papers concluded with a presentation from SETP’s National President Terry Tomeny (F) on “The State of the Society.”

The final event of the symposium was the cocktail reception, which was hosted by the USNTPS Alumni Association and supported by our corporate sponsors.  The highlight of the reception was Mr. Les Ryan (Northrop Grumman Test Pilot) presenting the annual Leroy Grumman Award to LCDR Cliff Camamile, USN (VX-20) and Ms. Erin Mrozowski (NAVAIR) for their paper titled “T-6A Synthetic Fuels Evaluation.”  The Leroy Grumman award was sponsored by the Northrop Grumman Corporation to honor the speakers that present the best technical paper at the East Coast Symposium.

I would like to express my sincere personal thanks to all the symposium speakers, the SETP National Officers, the SETP East Coast Section Officers, the SETP headquarters staff, the USNTPS and the TPS Alumni Association, as well as our sponsoring corporate members for their support in making the 2010 Symposium a success.

CDR Eric Mitchell (M), USN, East Coast Symposium Chairman

Great Lakes Symposium
27 May 2010
Wright - Patterson Air Force Base

The Great Lakes Section held its annual Symposium on 27 May 2010 at the Wright Patterson AFB Club.  There were four outstanding papers presented including; an update on the Navy UCAS-D program given by RAdm (ret) Tim Beard, B-2 Radar Modernization Program by Don Weiss (M), MC-12W Program by Major Chris Robinson and Major Dick Waggoner and “Flight Test of the Boeing 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control Countermeasures Dispense Envelope” presented by Mark Mitchell (M) and Norm Howell (AF) of Boeing.  There was also a panel discussion on Test Planning that featured Lt Gen (ret) Dick Reynolds (F), Mr. Bob Eslinger of the F-22 Test Shop and Col (ret) Robbie Robinson (AF).  The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, sponsored this year by Northrop Grumman, for the best paper was awarded to Mark and Norm for their outstanding paper on the 737 Counter Measures Dispense Envelope testing.

Our luncheon speaker was Brig Gen (sel) Arnie Bunch (M), past Commander of the 412^th Test Wing at Edwards.   Arnie has just returned to Wright Patterson AFB as the Program Executive Officer.

Participants included local SETP members, Society of Flight Test Engineers members and interested USAF test planners and program mangers.  The day was capped off with a joint dinner between SETP and SFTE members at the Engineers Club in Dayton Ohio.  At the dinner SFTE founding member Jim Papa spoke about the founding of the SFTE.  The SFTE local President is Sam Carbaugh.

WEST COAST 

On 14 April 2010 the ballots from the proposed Amendment C, Article V - Termination and reinstatement of active membership, Section 6 (Expulsion), Proposal to change the requirement for a unanimous vote of the investigating board to a two-thirds vote in order to expel a Member of the Society and Amendment CI, Article VII – Officers, Section 2 (How Elected) and Article XII – Amendments, Section 2 (Voting), Proposal to change the requirement for a letter ballot to allowing for electronic balloting via the internet, for those who explicitly agree to that option, were tallied.  Both amendments passed.

Ballots for SETP Officer Elections will be mailed in June.  With the recent change to the Constitution, those members willing to vote electronically may vote via the internet.  The default is paper ballots.  If you wish receive an electronic vote invitation for the June 2010 ballot please respond affirmatively to Shawna Mullen at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by 21 June.   Members who do not explicitly opt in to the electronic vote will be mailed a paper ballot.

Member Request

If anyone is attending the European Symposium and is interested in sharing a room with Leo Janssens, SETP Fellow, he has reserved a double room at the Hilton Doubletree Garden House for the nights of 13 to 16 July ( departing on 17 July).  Those interested can contact him at 772-979-1080 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Richard W. Taylor (center) Editor-in-Chief Anthony L. Velocci, Jr. (left) and Aviation Week President Tom Henricks (right)

On 29 March 2010, Richard W. Taylor (F) received the Lifetime Achievement award from Aviation Week & Space Technology. Small wonder that when Aviation Week invited industry and government to designate individuals who may be worth considering for Laureate awards in various categories, nine luminaries of the aerospace industry—from the U.S. and Europe—submitted a joint nomination of Taylor. They cited his seminal contributions to aviation spanning a career dating back to 1946, when he joined Boeing after serving as a pilot for the U.S. Army in the European theater during World War II.

 The Society sadly announces the passing of the following members:

Ascani, Fred J. (F) – 28 March 2010

Laidlaw, William (F) – 2 April 2010

Lentz, Fred (AF) – November 2009 (the Soeciety was recently notified of his passing)

Okawa, Goro (M) – March 2005 (the Society was recently notified of his passing)

Opitz, Paul Rudolf (HF) – 1 May 2010

Stock, David (M) – 14 November 2009

Thayer, Paul (F) – 6 May 2010

Tucker, Charles (F) – 26 April 2010

FUNERAL SERVICES

Maj Gen Fred J. Ascani, USAF (Ret)
Thursday, 3 June 2010 at 3:00pm
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia 22211
(Attendees must meet in the Administration Building
30 minutes prior to the services, as you will be escorted to the site)

Maj Gen Robert M. White, USAF (Ret)
Thursday, 24 June 2010 at 9:00am
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia 22211
(Attendees must meet in the Administration Building
30 minutes prior to the services, as you will be escorted to the site)

SETP NEW MEMBERS AND UPGRADES

The Society would like to welcome the following new Members:

Congratulations to those members who have upgraded their membership!

             Baase, Solomon (M), Maj, USAF
             Bratt, Richard (M),Maj, USA 
             Filbey, Joshua (M), LCDR, USN
             Ling, Richard (M), Flt Lt, RAF  
            Quintal, Peter (M), Northrop Grumman

Welcome Back!  The following member has re-instated his membership:

             Donald Underwood (AF), L-3 Communications

The Society would like to welcome the following new Corporate Member:

             Advanced Training Systems International, Inc.