The Fairey Rotodyne is an incredible collection of complex systems and technology—thousands of pieces of aircraft all flying in formation together—and it’s old. It’s amazing how there is “nothing new under the sun with airplane tech.” If I was going to segregate rotorcraft and powered lift in their own tournament bracket, I would probably include this marvelous invention. Turbo has some thoughts on The Greatest Aircraft of All Time, and it aligns with the March Madness sweeping the nation (United States) right now. What aircraft would you include in the tournament brackets pictured here? This edition lets you interact digitally with others in our industry, if you’d like a diversion from work.
Another trend that isn’t quite sweeping the nation is the gradual evolution of online and digital interfaces for text and data. For example, this edition includes several hyperlinks to updates that should probably be included in the Houle database, sent in from a reader in a letter to the Editor. One of the offshoots of that conversation included some observations about word docs (not “docx” files, but “doc” files) published by an industry-leading organization [if the shoe fits…]. The point is, no one should be using word docs if they want people to use their docs. There are so many better ways to do things, and that’s my opinion but it’s also a thread woven into Houle database conversation.
Speaking of better ways to do things, if you have any ideas, we would love to hear them. Send your thoughts, and we will share them in a future edition.
Download Flight Test Safety Fact, 24-03.