Welcome to SETP

Introduction

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in the professional development of experimental pilots, and providing scholarships and aid to members and the families of deceased members.

October 2024, President Message

It is my honor to serve alongside our newly elected Board of Directors as your President in the 69^th year of our Society.  I’d like to thank Toonces for his leadership this past year and for his continued service as my Executive Adviser.  And I also want to acknowledge the outgoing Board for their contributions and welcome the new Board into service.  We on the Board are volunteers and not only do I appreciate each one of them but also those that serve as section officers or on committees or within the Foundations.  We have well over 100 volunteers that serve SETP in one way or another, and they all deserve recognition.  And of course, the SETP Staff is our engine that handles the day-to-day operation and planning for events such as the Symposium & Banquet, our hallmark event.  This is a great Society, and we, as your Board of Directors, will all endeavor to live up to the high expectations are predecessors have set for us.

At this year’s Annual Business Meeting, I discussed a few themes for the coming year.  Our goals are not to make major power or attitude corrections, but simply to keep us on speed, on course, and on glidepath with minor corrections to observed deviations.

• Our Future is bright. Credit should be given to the SETP Foundation for its work in the realm of Educational Outreach. We have cultivated many paths and connection points to potential future flight testers, and I’m happy to see that trend continue.  Additionally, our membership numbers are solid.  We can, of course, expand our membership and we will continue to make small strides and tweaks as we are able to increase opportunities to entice potential new members to apply.  For example, as unmanned aviation continues to grow, we’ll need to strike a balance to ensure we are making positive contributions to that burgeoning field of aviation as well as a potentially offering new avenues for membership as our constitution allows.

• We are well positioned in the Present. As I previously mentioned, volunteerism is strong. Our regional and annual symposia are strong, with an amazing array of contributors via technical presentations and guest speakers.  The Flight Test Safety Committee (a SETP Foundation led effort alongside SFTE and AIAA) is a strong and well attended collaborative organization.  And the SETP Scholarship Foundation is continuing to support the financial needs of the children and spouses of our disabled, deceased, and active members of the Society, with over $750,000 given in scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year.

• Our Past is full of “Firsts” and our members continually create new “Firsts”. I want to ensure that we do our best as a Society, linked with the SETP Foundation’s Historical Committee, to support every opportunity to capture and communicate the good work of our members and the good name of our Society for posterity. We, as a Board, will be looking for ways to increase these opportunities and communication paths, be that through conventional publication of another historical archive or through more digital and social media means.  We are approaching the 70^th anniversary of our Society, and we have only published one historical archive that represents the first 20 years of our existence from 1955-1975.  We’ve got 50 years to catch up on!

At the 68^th Annual Awards Banquet in September, I elaborated on this notion of not only celebrating but also “elevating” the “Firsts” and other notable accomplishments the members of this Society have achieved.  We had four “First Flights” that were briefed at this year’s Symposium alone.  It is truly amazing what the members of SETP accomplish every year, and it’s actually very challenging to acknowledge them all.  I believe we need to continue to focus on “telling our Society’s story” and “celebrating our members’ accomplishments”, and that will be my main focus for the year to come.  I’ll update you from time to time on our progress.

I hope to see each of you throughout the year at the many regional events and, of course, in Anaheim for the 69^th Annual Symposium & Banquet.  Until then, fly with precision and passion!

Sincerely ~

Andrew “Face” McFarland (AF)
2024-2025 SETP President

68th Annual S&B Award Winners and 2024 Fellow Class

Herman R. Salmon Technical Publications Award

(Sponsored by Symbolic Displays)

For the Best Technical Paper published in Cockpit during the Past Year

"A Method for Identification and Correction of Altitude Errors for Special Mission and Research Aircraft”

Thomas A. Washington (M), MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Read more: 68th Annual S&B Award Winners and 2024 Fellow Class