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.
68th Annual S&B Award Winners and 2024 Fellow Class
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is proud to announce the
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
July 2024, President Message
Since my last message I attended all but one symposia and presented the SETP overview brief which starts with our founding:
“In the fall of 1955, a few civilian test pilots working at Edwards met for lunch at a local café. After some stimulated mediation they began discussing the idea of forming an organization for the purpose of disseminating information between test pilots for their mutual education and safety. Going to work as an experimental test pilot every day is not the best assurance that one will come home every night. At best, it is a hazardous business. Anything that would reduce the inherent risk was desirable. The fellows talked about establishing an organization wherein they could help each other by exchanging information on problems experienced and techniques developed on the job. This, so that each pilot would not have to learn every lesson the hard way. A sharing of personal experiences in connection with every aspect of flight testing was their objective. It was decided to proceed with the idea. Some very dynamic men solved the organizational problems so remarkably fast that by 1957 The Society of Experimental Test Pilots was an entity and very shortly staged an awards banquet of high quality. Since then almost every person who has played an important role in aviation or extra-atmospheric exploration has joined as a member and a considerable number have been awarded Honorary Fellowships. With a membership of nearly 1500 test pilots today [1978, 2479 in 2024], it would be almost impossible to name the pilot of any major international aircraft or space program without naming a member of the Society. That small nucleus from the desert air base grew in number and stature until they gained international recognition and made their mark in the aerospace world. Governments listen, industry cooperates, the services applaud and laymen stand in awe when test pilots perform. They know their flying and they know their aircraft. They also know that their dedication to excellence has contributed to the technological advancement and the welfare of mankind!”
These words come from GEN Jimmy Doolittle from SETP’s history book of our first 20 years published in 1978. The Society’s founders were driven by a deep passion to pass on their knowledge and experience to the next generation of test pilots promoting safety and now in 2024, 67 years later, that passion continues. However, as new technology emerges we need to stay relevant and forward-thinking to maintain prestige and deliver value to the Society and its members, including corporate members.
What is a test pilot? The answer is no longer straight forward. Thanks to the great work of the Constitution and SOP Committee headed by Greg Lewis (F) and Membership Committee headed by Al Peterson (F) we have a new Standard Operating Procedure focused on clearly defining the criteria for becoming a full member. The membership guidelines focus on answering 3 questions: Does the applicant have the necessary knowledge? Is the applicant currently engaged in a qualifying role? Has the applicant been actively engaged for the minimum time? Not long after I took over as President when I was asked by at least one WSO (Weapon Systems Operator) whom I fly F/A-18s and EA-18Gs with at Pax River, “When are you going to let us into your Society? We are just as much at risk as you!” Good question. Is it time to expand our membership envelope? About 15 years ago there was a very heated discussion about opening up membership to Weapon System Operators (WSOs) or UAV pilots. Article III of the Constitution states membership is restricted to “All persons who are engaged as pilots of manned aerospace vehicles in the practice of …flight testing.” Without a Constitutional amendment, the membership is thusly restricted but that should not prevent the exchange of ideas, communication and promotion of flight test safety with other flight test professionals at our symposia. Hence we have made efforts to collaborate with SFTE and AIAA and all SETP symposia are open to the public.
My goals as President include bolstering outreach, robust symposia and volunteerism as our industry transforms at a rapid pace. A success story of the Educational Outreach Committee on the SETP Foundation was that of Anthony Nunez who received a full scholarship to Stanford, where he plans to study engineering. Anthony notes his experience at the SETP Annual Symposium as inspiring him in his journey, with thanks to the SETP Foundation’s mentorship with STEM outreach. Need help with conducting STEM activities? Great tools can be found on the SETP website here: Educational Outreach (setp.org). Each of us has the ability to inspire more youth to pursue careers in aviation and in the flight test profession. Consider spearheading an outreach event this year and add to the SETP Foundation’s success.
I attended 7 symposia and saw over 50 diverse presentations with great attendance, particularly at the 53rd European Section Symposium in Lucerne, Switzerland. The notable trend is more presentations are focused on electric powered/vertical lift, unmanned or remotely pilot vehicles and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in aerospace vehicles. The oldie but goodies never lose their value however, particularly when it comes to first flight. We need more papers for Cockpit magazine. We need more presentation submissions. A lot is happening in the flight test world that is not being shared because many companies are reluctant to allow members to share their ideas in a public forum and impose burdensome, overly complicated public release/disclosure requirements, not that mine is one of them. Do not let bureaucracy get in the way of sharing important lessons learned. Corporate bean counters want to know why they are funding SETP activities. Tell them the ideas we share are for the mutual benefit of all and for the professional development of their test pilots. Refer them to Jimmy Doolittle’s historical background I recited from our history book above.
Finally, I want to thank the members of the 2023-2024 Board of Directors, Committees, Foundation, Scholarship Foundation, Flight Test Safety Committee, symposia chairs and presenters for volunteering their time and efforts for the betterment of the Society. I especially want to thank the SETP headquarters staff: Laurie, Tammy, and Susan and welcome Jasmine. These four squared away ladies are what keeps our Society running! And to all the past Presidents who provided me with timely advice, most of which was useful, I salute you. See you all in Anaheim!
I want to hear from you directly. Email me your ideas, requests, and funny memes and I will respond within 48 hours! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fly safe. Be active. Inspire the next generation of test pilots.
John “Toonces” Tougas (AF)
President, SETP
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SETP Election of Officers Results for 2024-2025
The votes are in. The results of the SETP Election of Officers to serve on the 2024/2025 Board of Directors are:
Kelly Latimer (F) was elected as President-Elect. Kelly will assume the Office of President of the Society in September 2025.
William Koyama (AF) was elected as Vice President
Justin Paines (F) was elected as Secretary
Dan Hinson (F) was elected as Treasurer
Michael Lippert (M) was elected as Legal Officer
Once again, I’d like to thank everyone that ran on the ballot. The next step in our procedure is to elect section leadership. I encourage all our Members to consider serving SETP locally. Section Chairpersons will then appoint Section Representatives who, along with Officer-appointed Technical Advisers, will complete the 19-member Board of Directors to be installed during our Annual Business Meeting in Anaheim on 28 September 2024.
Congratulations,
Andrew "Face" McFarland
Chairman, Nominating Committee and
President-Elect 2023-2024
January 2024, President Message
In order to know where you are going you need to know where you came from. Throughout history, individuals having common problems or common goals have ultimately formed organizations to resolve their problems or achieve results not available through individual effort. The organization never results merely from a sincere desire to effect the organization. Some individual with the necessary initiative and drive is needed to establish the desired organization. The group comprising those individuals whose livelihoods encompassed the area of aircraft flight testing as test pilots was no exception. At intervals since the first test flight by Wilbur Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, various test pilots have contemplated the advantages of benefiting from other test pilots’ experiences; however, for one reason or another, the idea remained an idea only. In 1955, the required catalyst appeared in the form of Ray Tenhoff, an experimental flight test pilot associated with Northrop Aircraft.1 Ray scheduled an initial meeting of local test pilots in Lancaster, California from various contractors and NACA on September 14, 1955 to discuss the formation of a test pilots’ group. Attendees included: Ray Tenhoff, Northrop; Joe Ozier, Lockheed; Dick Johnson, Convair; Scott Crossfield, NACA; Tom Kilgariff, Douglas; and John Fitzpatrick, Convair. On September 29, 1955, the first organized meeting of the “Testy Test Pilots Society” was held. Ever wonder why the Annual Symposium and Banquet, which will be led again by William “Condor” Koyama and his team in 2024, is always scheduled in the last week of September? On October 13, 1955, the Society’s official name became The Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). We all stand on the shoulders of these giants whose brilliance saw the need and had the drive to form our Society and draft our Constitution. Thank you for allowing the 2023-2024 Board of Directors the privilege of serving you.
Since I took office in September 2023, the Society voted to adopt four constitutional amendments. The wording in Article III, Section 7. Associate Member was changed to make the requirement easier to understand. Article V Termination and Reinstatement of Active Membership, Section 3 was changed to more accurately reflect the practical timeline required for the Society to address members who run late on their dues. Article XIV Scholarships, Section 2 was changed to bring this section into agreement with another constitutional section that was previously amended and makes it explicit that the Board of Directors must establish guidelines for determining the amount of funds available for the Scholarship Foundation. Additionally, and thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Constitution/SOP Committee led by Greg Lewis (F), several sensible SOP changes were made but unlike the Constitution, did not require a full vote by the membership. If you want to make a change to either the Constitution or SOP all you need to do is submit a request in writing to any Board member or the SETP staff stating the proposed change and rationale and I will ensure it gets addressed. This is your Society!
Our headquarters building located at 44814 Elm Avenue, Lancaster, California, was built in 1963, way before lean manufacturing existed, and it shows. However, like many things in the 60’s, it was built to last. Until December of 2023, the last time our headquarters saw an upgrade was in 1998 with new carpet, green chairs, and furniture. Your Board of Directors were discussing options (sell and move, sell and lease, sell and build) when the HVAC died. Thanks to Laurie’s incredible resourcefulness, she obtained multiple quotes and I interviewed and chose a company and now headquarters has a new “smart” app-controlled HVAC system which will save on energy costs. Stop by if you can. Until December, SFTE was one of our tenants but decided to vacate and go virtual; however, the Antelope Valley chapter of SFTE will remain a tenant. Bottom line, now is not a good time to build, buy or lease a new headquarters.
The SETP Southeast Section held a combined STEM event with SFTE & AIAA on October 27, 2023 at Georgia Tech. This was a big success, particularly from the standpoint of student engagement and STEM outreach. Approximately 15 SETP Members, including myself (a Georgia Tech Alum) and other aerospace professionals were in attendance from Gulfstream, FAA, Army Redstone, Lockheed, and others. Thanks to Wayne Roberts (F) for a fascinating technical presentation and David Kern (AF) for helping to arrange this event.
I am grateful to Giorgio Clementi (AF), CEO of ITPS Canada, for hosting myself and the President of SFTE, Jennifer Uchida, for a 2 day technical symposium on December 14-15, 2023 and an exclusive tour of their state of the art operation. Giorgio’s operation is cutting edge and I was honored to speak to his staff and recent graduates about the benefits of joining SETP. I met at least 2 individuals who are qualified to be members but have not yet joined. I offered to personally shepherd their applications to the Membership Committee and look forward to welcoming them to our Society in 2024.
Question: Where are we headed Toonces?
Answer: My vision includes 3 priorities:
1. Strengthen SETP membership (2484 individuals and 74 corporations as of September 30, 2023) by recruiting every eligible individual and corporation. Many non-member test pilots have enough time and counters as Pilot Flying and have not applied. Why are you not a member of SETP? Many big corporations have understandably scaled back their contribution to SETP but is the savings really that significant? How can the bean counters place a dollar value on the knowledge, experience and value of their company test pilots being active members of SETP?
2. Advocate for robust attendance at all Symposia so that we may all benefit from the live, in person exchange of ideas and to promote safety. Dates/locations are posted here: Symposium/Meetings (setp.org)
3. Promote volunteerism as our industry transforms at a rapid pace. Past Presidents, please guide me. Rogers Smith, Billie Flynn and I had dinner in London, Ontario and they gave me great advice at dinner. I hope I can remember at least 10% of it. New members, please contact me directly or your section board members and ask “what do you need?” and get involved. You were inspired by someone to become a test pilot, now go inspire the next generation.
Fly safe!
“A good pilot knows what is happening with his aircraft. A great pilot knows what could happen to his aircraft.”
Carl Pascarell, self-taught test pilot and my mentor
John “Toonces” Tougas (AF)
President, SETP
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1. The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, History Of The First 20 Years, Taylor Publishing Co.,
Neil Armstrong Luncheon Address
While digging in our archives we found this historic presentation from SETP Charter Member Neil Armstrong (F),
at the Luncheon held during the 2005 Symposium that celebrated the SETP 50th Anniversary.
Please take 30 minutes out of your day to watch this captivating talk!