Welcome to the North Spin,

A number of years ago, I had the idea to start a site that focused solely on aircraft flight test. Well, it took a lot longer to get around to than originally planned (doesn't everything?), but here it is.

Why do a site that only focuses on flight test? A number of reasons... Obviously, there's already a wealth of resources on the Internet for aircraft. You can find plenty of info on combat aircraft and their associated units, airliners, specific aircraft types, and of course there's more than enough 'Area 51' type mystery aircraft sites. Many people may find it more exciting to talk about Top Gun, Red Flag, or the latest Dreamland rumor. I'm sure even most pilots would admit that the idea of shooting down a MiG, or bombing an actual combat target, is a lot more exciting than running test cards. But what about the people that make all that stuff possible to begin with?

Most people have no idea how much time, money, and effort goes into making all those aircraft, weapons, and their associated systems, do the amazing things they do. There's thousands of people throughout history that have dedicated their lives to going faster, higher, and farther, then ever before. Sure, Chuck Yeager has always gotten a lot of attention, and rightfully so... But what about all the others? Well, this site is dedicated to them... All the people that work day in and day out, in hopes of pushing that envelope just a little bit further.

I would like this site to be *the* place for everything flight test... Navy, Marine, Air Force, civilian, rotor-craft, fixed-wing... Worldwide. If it has to do with flight test, I want it to be here. For now, there will be little focus on 'black projects'. There's already plenty enough stuff floating around out there about that kind of thing. This site will focus on the facts... What's really happening in flight test and the people involved with it. I would like professionals to be able to find something enjoyable here, as well as hobbyists.

Hopefully, this site will only continue to grow as time goes on. There's already plenty of ideas for new additions and features. In the future, anything new that's been added to the site will be listed on the 'New' page.

Please send any corrections, comments, or info to: dave@thenorthspin.com

Thanks for visiting,

- Dave

All original content on this site is Copyright © 2006 - 2008 The North Spin - All photography is Copyright by each individual Photographer - Please do not link directly to and/or repost content from this site, without providing a core page as the link. Linking directly to inner content on the site means that the site gets no credit, the Photographer gets no credit, and you are basically stealing bandwidth.