The August 2015 issue of the Flight Test News included the following columns.
Spotlight on Dave Houle
Dave Houle is a lifetime member and Fellow of the SFTE, having served as President of the Society after serving as president of his local chapter. Dave has recently donated an extensive collection of historical copies of the Flight Test News.
Thinking outside the Bookshelf
“Imagine if someone told you that a year from today, you would be required to take a test in which every wrong answer resulted in the loss of a human life. How would you approach studying for the test? Would you study for twenty to thirty minutes every night or would you wait until a week before the test and start cramming?” (Joe Byerly). These words posed by an Army officer ring true in Flight Test, but professional development is even more critical because what we do is not placed statically on the calendar. Instead, on any given day, each of us could face a pop quiz where the cost of unpreparedness ranges from a surge of adrenaline to catastrophe. Just like the profession of arms, Flight Test exacts a penalty when we allow apathy or complacency to dull our knowledge and skills, but this is not without remedy.
The rest of the column discusses “book recommendations” for every stage of a Flight Test career.
Book Review: Principles of Aerostatics, by John A. Taylor
By Al Lawless: Principles of Aerostatics is just that, a top-level treatise that gives readers a good sense of lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicle design tenets.
Download Flight Test News August 2015.