PLEASE NOTE: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE AN SETP, SFTE, AIAA or VFS MEMBER TO ATTEND THIS SYMPOSIUM, SO PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR FLIGHT TEST COLLEAGUES!
THE REGISTRATION SITE WILL CLOSE ON 19 March at 12pm CDT. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REGISTER AFTER THIS DATE. YOU MUST PURCHASE YOUR REGISTRATION BY 19 March 2026 at 12pm CDT. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE.
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, in collaboration with the AIAA North Texas Section, SFTE North Texas Chapter, and VFS Southwest Chapter is pleased to announce the Southwest Aerospace Symposium will be held on 28 March 2026 in Arlington, TX. This year’s Symposium Co-Chairs are C.R. Davis (AF), SETP and James SergeantF, AIAA/SFTE.
SATURDAY, 28 March - TECHNICAL SESSIONS: Coffee & Refreshments will be served at 0800 in Room 294 of the Science & Engineering Innovation & Research (SEIR) Building. The Symposium will be held immediately following Coffee at 0830. Registration includes the Technical Sessions and Luncheon. You must register below no later than Thursday, 19 March 2026 at 12pm CDT.
This event has a capacity of 150 attendees so please register early!
Attire for the Symposium is Uniform of the Day or Business Casual for civilian attendees.
SATURDAY 28 MARCH - LUNCHEON: A catered Luncheon with NASA Astronaut Bob “Farmer” Hines has been arranged at 1200. The luncheon is included in the registration fee.
Bob Hines was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported to the Astronaut Office in August 2017. He has served more than 23 years in the United State Air Force (USAF) as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and a test pilot. Before his selection in 2017, he was serving as a Research Pilot at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He has accumulated more than 4,000 hours of flight time in 50 different types of aircraft and has flown 76 combat missions in 3 different aircraft types while supporting contingency operations around the world. Hines served as the pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, which concluded on Oct. 14, 2022. The mission was the first spaceflight for Hines. He has logged 170 days in space, overseeing the arrival of crew and cargo, maintaining the space station, and conducting science experiments of various disciplines.
SATURDAY 28 MARCH - SOCIAL: A no host Social at 6pm CDT will be held at TIPSY OAK, 301 East Front St, Arlington TX 76011. No RSVP needed.
TECHNICAL PRESENTATIONS
Full Scale Stop-fold System Transition Demonstration on a High Speed Test Track
Dr. Troy Schank, Bell
Air Tractor 1002
Jim Acree (AF)
Initial MV-75 Handling Qualities Evaluation in Vertical Motion Simulator
Ernie McGuinness (M), Bell & Tom Berger, Bell
High-Altitude Airport Operations (HAAO) certification campaign for the Global 6500 aircraft
Brian Nyaberi AM
VSS Unity Test Program Lessons Learned
Mike Masucci (AF), Virgin Galactic
We Work for the Robots - Lessons from Autonomy Flight Testing
Kasey Dixon, Lockheed Martin
Findings from FAA-sponsored flight tests of Handling Qualities Task Elements for VTOL Aircraft
Marty Shubert (F), Tiltrotor Flight Test Consulting
Aerodynamics Research in North Texas at the Dawn of CFD
Dr. Dennis Finley, Lockheed Martin
Strategies for Integrating Complex Aircraft Software Systems: Insights from Software Engineers at Lockheed Martin
Jennifer Klenka & Stephanie Figueroa, Lockheed Martin
Risky Business: These are the Risks you are Looking For
David Hoey SM & Gerardo Sanchez M , 586th Flight Test Squadron
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