Dear Fellow Members,
As we reach the midpoint of the summer, I want to take a moment to reflect on where we stand as a Society—acknowledging our deepest shared grief, celebrating our historic milestones, and looking critically at how we can better serve you, our membership.
Honoring Our Fallen and Supporting Our Community
First and most heavily on our hearts, the flight test community is mourning the tragic B-52 accident. We lost eight of our brave comrades, including two cherished members of our own Society.
In the wake of this immense tragedy, I want to extend my profound gratitude to all of our Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP) and family support volunteers. From day one, you have been on the ground, ready and providing unwavering support to the families and colleagues affected by this loss.
This is the exact area where the Society of Experimental Test Pilots stands apart from other organizations. We share a deep, fundamental understanding of the inherent risks and the true cost of our profession. We know the weight it places on our families and friends, and true to our character, our members never hesitate to step up and help one another during the most trying times. Honoring their legacy also means continuing the critical, everyday work of our profession—a dedication clearly reflected in our recent gatherings.
Section Symposia Success and the Road to Anaheim
This year’s section symposia have been outstanding. Attendance was incredibly high, marked by exceptional technical papers and fantastic student participation. The continued, open sharing of lessons learned in these venues remains one of the absolute pillars of our Society. Thank you and congratulations to all our symposium chairmen for their flawless execution.
I am highly anticipating my upcoming trip to the European Symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I look forward to seeing many of you there. Meanwhile, Andy Edgell (AF) and his team remain hard at work planning our annual—and landmark 70th Anniversary—Symposium in Anaheim, California. It promises to be an unforgettable event.
Celebrating Artemis and Looking to the Future of Spaceflight
We also recently celebrated humanity's triumphant return to the moon with the spectacular mission of Artemis II. I want to offer a huge congratulations to SETP members Reid Wiseman (AF) and Victor Glover (AF). Beyond executing a highly successful mission, your tireless work in the aftermath to share your story has inspired imaginations and dreams across the globe.
The momentum continues as two additional SETP members, Randy Bresnik (F) and Luca Parmitano (M), have been named to the Artemis III crew. Congratulations to you both; the entire Society wishes you the very best of luck as you prepare to push the boundaries of exploration even further.
Modernizing Our Database: AI Search Capability
Turning to technology updates, we are actively coordinating with the Flight Test Safety Committee (FTSC) to integrate their newly developed AI search tool into our SETP database.
Currently, we have 26 SETP members involved in a structured test program to vet the search capability, providing critical feedback and recommendations. This evaluation phase will wrap up in early August. If the results are as favorable as anticipated, we will formally add this AI search capability to our database functionality.
For those curious to see it in action, the FTSC search tool is currently operational on the Flight Test Safety webpage. You can access it via the Flight Test Safety website, which is linked directly from the SETP website under the "Committees" drop-down menu. I highly recommend taking a look to see what this capability will bring to our own records.
Lessons Learned: The Constitutional Ballot
As most of you know, the recent constitutional ballot to allow remote in-the-loop test flying to count toward membership requirements did not pass. The amendment required a 67% supermajority to carry, and it closed with 63% in favor.
More important than the final percentage, however, is what the Board of Directors and I learned by going through this process. We have captured a number of distinct lessons learned regarding both the ballot itself and our internal procedures. I am compiling these to archive for future boards, and I will be presenting our findings at the upcoming symposia.
Our single biggest takeaway is that for substantive constitutional amendments like this one, we must establish a formal period of public discussion within the Society. We need to enable direct feedback and input on a draft ballot prior to sending out a final version for a vote, and we must work harder to ensure higher engagement and participation across the entirety of our membership.
To that end, we recently distributed a survey to capture your raw feedback on the ballot and the process. We will collate these results and bake them directly into our formal lessons-learned pass-down, ensuring they directly inform how future constitutional amendments are implemented.
In the end, this is your society. Your input, your opinion, and your feedback are of the utmost importance. I failed to fully account for that dynamic in this recent ballot initiative, and I will strive to do better in the future.
Closing Thoughts
Despite the challenges, I am amazed every single day by the sheer depth and breadth of the flight test programs our members lead. From quiet sonic booms and flying to the moon, to testing and certifying electric powered vehicles, developing cutting-edge drone and automated flight technologies, teaching our next generation of testers, and pushing military and commercial capabilities further than ever before—you are the absolute best the world has to offer.
Thank you for your dedication, your resilience, and for everything you do to bring dreams and ideas into reality.
Kelly Latimer (F)
President, Society of Experimental Test Pilots