History
The society was founded on September 14, 1955, as the "Testy Test Pilots Society" and had Scott Crossfield of NACA, Ray Tenhoff of Northrop, Joe Ozier of Lockheed, Dick Johnson and John Fitzpatrick of Convair, Tom Kilgariff of Douglas, and Lou Everett of Ryan Aeronautical Company as its original members. The newly formed group pledged to "assist in the development of superior aircraft." The name was changed to the Society of Experimental Test Pilots at a meeting held on October 13, 1955.
The first officers of the society were instated on October 25, 1955, and consisted of Ray Tenhoff, President; Scott Crossfield, Executive Adviser; Dick Johnson, Vice-President; Joe Ozier, Secretary; Lou Everett, Treasurer; and Al Blackburn, Legal Officer. Once the organization and bylaws were established, the society incorporated in the state of California on April 12, 1956. The first Awards Banquet was held on October 4, 1957, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. In 2005, SETP Fellow, Neil Armstrong, spoke of how the first awards banquet went largely unnoticed due to the Soviet Union's launch of the world's first satellite, Sputnik, on the same day.
The East Coast chapter was formed in 1959 by twelve members including Bob Elder, first East Coast chairman, Don Engen, and Gene Deatrick. As of 2009, the Society had grown to nearly 2400 members from many nations and promotes safety within the flight test community.
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