Veeduber wrote:

But that WASN'T THE POINT. Being aviation types I assumed everyone already
knew that stuff, that you'd start to smile when you saw the first mention of
FIFTY INCHES for a drop test and would be laughing along with me by the time I
got to the punch line.

No argument with what you posted, just an anecdote. I witnessed
some of the drop tests of the T-45 (they Navy's newest jet trainer).
The spec called for a 24 ft/sec sink rate endpoint. That's a drop
from about 9 ft. The drop fixture was surrounded by chain link mesh,
presumably to keep airplane bits from flying across the shop floor.
The mesh served its purpose on at least one test I saw. So did the
drip pans set to catch leaking hydraulic fluid g

Dave 'did you hear a thump?' Hyde