[ Post a Response | FLSC Message Board ]
Posted by Ray on 7/25/2008, 6:13 am
72.230.154.40
I just learned with sadness from Rick Lafford of the death of Dick Johnson in his Ventus. I don't know any details, but agree with Rick this could not have been a fully-conscious pilot error.
Dick Johnson was more than a test pilot. To anyone who carefully read his many "Flight Test Evaluations" over the decades, is was clear he was a scientist in every sense of that word. His meticulous attention to detail, careful data gathering, zeal in eliminating extraneous variables, and concentration on the focus of whatever he was measuring (minimum sink for example), leave room for no other conclusion. Like any good scientist, he put maximum emphasis on what can be measured, and therefore what can be reproduced experimentally, as opposed to unverified hypothesis or frank speculation. His careful approach should be both an inspiration and a refreshing reminder to any young scientist now in training, lest they become infected with the sort of loosly-backed-up, politically-correct thinking promulgated nowadays.
Regretabally I never met the man. I only knew him through his work. But that was enough.
Message Thread:
« Back to thread