Test Flights Fail in Hurricane

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North Pole Flight Command just posted a stunning update: the test flights of Santa’s sleigh have failed during purposeful test flights into Hurricane Ian. Evidently Flight Command saw the catastrophic storm as an unusual opportunity and sent the test flights right into the path of the hurricane.

It didn’t go well.

Another version of the sleigh – Version 5 now, I think it is – had already been ordered and will be sent to somewhere in the southeast of the United States tomorrow. I’m told that this new version will test further over the next couple of days to “take advantage of the unsettled weather” before it will transition to Sector 2, where it will basically begin the flight testing routine over.

I have been reminded that this kind of thing is normal and nothing to worry about with more than 85 days remaining until Santa’s launch.

How have the reports been flowing from Sector 5 during this test run of the sleigh? Elf Pinky says the reports have been VERY strong and they have some real possibilities of actual photos of the sleigh in flight. She needs to confirm them before sharing but I’m convinced that one of our tracker elves actually did capture it. (Although Pinky did get LOTS and LOTS of photos of Jupiter this week, which was prominent in the night skies, that some thought was a sleigh).

What can trackers in Sector 2 anticipate as the test flights shift to their area?

I’m told night flights are the first order of business. That means sleigh visibility will be better.

Will the flights shift to further big weather events like new hurricanes? North Pole Flight Command says to bet on it. This is one of the more serious efforts in testing the sleigh and there could be a lot of storm chasing over the next two months. That is part of the reason why your weather reports are so important.

Some are writing in expressing great concern about Santa’s sleigh.

Many are concerned at the North Pole, too.

But I would just emphasize, once again, that Santa and the lead elves who head up the test flight project are not worried about Santa’s sleigh. There is plenty of time to work out the issues and some of what you’re reading here in the news is “normal” – it just doesn’t get shared much on a site like SantaUpdate.com. As elves, you should be able to handle tough news. So we share it here and hope that you will keep it “between us”, as other elves, rather than taking your concerns to the world on social media.

Elves don’t panic, okay?

Outage Affects News Operations

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All of the North Pole has struggled to maintain contact with the outside world since late last Wednesday night. A fierce and prolonged winter blizzard laid waste to new fiber optic cables being installed to upgrade North Pole infrastructure. The surprise storm also disrupted all outdoor activities and ground traffic as well as delayed flight operations at the sleigh port. Any Internet-connect device or system suffered significant downtime, a first for the North Pole.

As explained earlier today via North Pole Flight Command the storm hit while critical upgrades were being made. Normally, such intense weather is not seen during this time of the year at the North Pole. Elves in the Weather Tracking Department are examining what went wrong with their forecasts and why crews working the upgrades were not given more notice in advance of the storm.

“For all of our modern technology we still are not 100 percent accurate in predicting North Pole weather,” said Elf Seymour Snow, head meteorologist for the North Pole Weather Tracking Department. “This storm was aided by a cold front usually seen during the months of January and February – very cold, very swift and super fierce. It was the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. That’s not unusual for the North Pole but it is unusual for this time of the year. We can handle it usually. But I think with the upgrades they were working on it made us a little vulnerable and the weather took complete advantage.”

Santa has had plenty to say to several departments about this storm. The Weather Tracking and Utilities Departments were not the only ones affected. Almost all departments were affected.

Elf Ernest tells me that he has checked in with all department heads and that the overall state of readiness for Operation Merry Christmas remains on track, although most departments fell “a little short” of their production goals for last week.

Elf Ernest also says some events were cancelled, shipments were missed and that the check-in of arriving reindeer was suspended during the course of the storm.

As of today it appears all operations at the North Pole are returning to normal since Internet connection has been restored.

Sector 3 Gets First Visits of Santa’s Sleigh

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The test flights of the newest version of Santa’s sleigh have arrived in Sector 3. I have just been notified by North Pole Flight Command that these flights will be in our sector for “the next several days”.

This is the first flight action in Sector 3 this year. I hope it is an opportunity for us.

Therefore, as a first request, I am asking all trackers in Sector 3 to send in a weather report as soon as possible.

Some elves have contacted me about sleigh sightings report. And the answer is yes, if you spot a sleigh please report it at once. If you can get a picture, please do so.

While we have some reports we will want in time, I’m awaiting direction for Flight Command before asking you for them.

Once I know more, I will let you know.

Please enjoy “the next several days” and stand ready for any new requests that they might give us.

Sector 3 Now on Alert

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Elves – I have news from Flight Command: Sector 3 is now on high alert.

North Pole Flight Command just messaged me that the first sleigh flights over our sector will be happening very soon. How soon? They aren’t specific. And they haven’t officially announced the resumption of test flights. But this alert is the real deal – it came through official channels and was coded perfectly. This is happening, whatever THIS is.

Sector 3 has not had any kind of reporting opportunity yet this season. I think this alert changes things.

As such, I’m asking all active elves to please file a weather report as soon as you can.

Also, be prepared to submit a sleigh sighting report if you see a sleigh.

Due to the serious tone of this alert I’ve gone to 24-hour monitoring here at the Regional Tracking Center here in Bethlehem, South Africa. All elves here will be working double shifts until we know the activity in our sector has ceased.

I will keep you posted.

An Update for Tracker Elves

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(From the Office of Elf Roger Star – International Director of Santa Trackers) – As you are all well aware, yesterday a test flight of Santa’s sleigh crashed in the South Pacific. If you are following the news reports here and on other official websites of the North Pole, you are as informed as I am about the current status of the test flights.

There have been many from every sector who have questions about what happened and what this event means. The purpose of my statement here today is to clarify the situation as much as I can and to provide direction for tracker elves everywhere about what they can and should be doing right now.

North Pole Flight Command, hours ago, announced that all test flights have been suspended while they conduct an investigation into what happened and how another similar event can be prevented. How long test flights will be suspended is not known at this time.

Regardless, I have instructed elf supervisors of every sector to continue with their plans. That means you MAY receive direction and/or requests from your elf supervisor even if the test flights remain grounded. The operation of test flights never had anything to do with your responsibilities as a tracker. The test flights give us good training and are helpful in developing tracking skills such as spotting Santa’s sleigh in flight. But the test flights are not necessary for you to do your job.

We remind you, that this is a new year and that Santa has placed upon us new expectations in our tracking duties. We must move forward with those things.

Please remain engaged in checking in as frequently as you can for new direction from your elf supervisor.

If and when the test flights resume, you will hear how those flights might impact your sector and if there is an opportunity for you to participate in some way.

For now, assume that all operations are normal, and that you are “on-the-job” in your tracking duties. Your elf supervisor will provide an occasional update of your responsibilities.

Thank you.

Radio News Report of Sleigh Crash

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The North Pole Podcast
The North Pole Podcast
Radio News Report of Sleigh Crash
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Elf Frank Myrrh and Elf Crash Murphy have now filed this radio news report of the crash of a test flight of Santa’s Sleigh.

Sleigh Crash Reported in the South Pacific

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North Pole Flight Command is reporting that one of the sleighs that are part of the test flights has gone down in the South Pacific. The sleigh pilot and the reindeer have been rescued by a team from the SS Jingle Bell and are reportedly in good condition. We have no indication of the fate of the test sleigh, however.

This is a breaking news situation. We will keep you posted as more information becomes available.

Chat with Crash This Saturday

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If you are available we invite you over to SantaUpdate.com and North Pole Chat for a conversation with Elf Crash Murphy. This general-audience chat will begin at 1pm EST in the North Pole Chat room at SantaUpdate.com on Saturday, August 20th.

While this chat is not specific to tracker elves I have it on good authority that Crash will be prepaid to update us on the status of the test flights and how tracker elves world wide are doing.

He will also be available to answer any general questions about Santa, Christmas and the North Pole.

Hope you can make it!

Elf Winslow

Reports Slowly Coming In

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Reports to North Pole Flight Command are a little slow to come in. This is expected.

Hello everyone, Elf Flip here, with an update on our goal this year. In the past, I have updated you on the number of tracker elves recruited each year. With the change of focus to tracker elf reports, my job changes slightly.

Our goal, as announced at the annual tracker elf press conference at the North Pole in July, is to get 1 billion tracker reports. We have a little more than 3,000 reports as of this morning.

I know it sounds like a tiny little dent towards our goal. But I would remind you that last year at this time we had 0 reports by this point in the season.

Some here at Flight Command feel that part of the reason for the low number is because tracker elves for the most part haven’t even checked in yet.

And it is easy to see why that is true. In many parts of the world it is still summertime and many are on vacations. Some elves haven’t even thought of Christmas yet. As elves wake up to the fact that Santa’s flight is soon to be only 100 or so days away, they will come back and check in.

So nobody is really panicked about the report totals. It’s going to happen.

I have spoken to each elf supervisor. They are all very pleased so far with the quality of reports coming in. In fact, there are no issues at this time to tell you about.

Yes, we have a long way to go to that goal. And we recognize that the vast majority of reports will be coming in November and December.

I think it is safe to say that as of right now, we are right on target.

Official: Sector 3 Online

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I see no reason to wait further: I have activated Sector 3.

This means that all tracker elves in Sector 3 need to file a status report. You can do so at this link: ELF STATUS REPORT. Please complete this by August 21st. If no response is received from elves working Sector 3 we will record you as “inactive”.

This is not a drill. Repeat: this is not a drill. This one counts. Please follow directions.

I do not yet have the flight schedule for Sector 3 test flights. And we do not yet have selected our weather analyst elves. I hope to address that in the next few days. I will keep you informed.

Just so you know, the regional tracking center located here in Bethlehem, South Africa is not 100% ready for business. But we have communication set up with North Pole Flight Command and we should be fully operational within the next four or five days.

We are sufficiently along where going active was possible. So I did it.

Merry Christmas, Sector 3. Let’s show them all what we can do.

New Report Added for Trackers

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A new report has been added to the Trackers Report menu. It’s called the Sleigh Sighting Report and it is for those elves who believe they have seen a sleigh in flight.

The Elf Supervisors specifically asked for this report to be added in advance of tracking the test flights of Santa’s sleigh. They said that with so many sleighs in flights this was a very common occurrence last year.

Elf Pinky reported that her regional tracking center alone last year received more than 40,000 reports of sleigh sightings.

“It is not hard to see how this can happen,” Elf Pinky said. “We have right now 12 prototype sleighs testing around the clock. That’s more than 100 flights a day and they go all over the place, day and night. Then, in the hours before Santa launches and even when he is in flight the North Pole sends up tens of thousands of sleighs in support of Santa. Those are airlift sleighs moving freight, scout sleighs, transport sleighs moving elves all over the place, reindeer support sleighs and weather tracking sleighs – how is it possible that people DON’T see more sleighs on Christmas Eve?

So if you have seen a sleigh North Pole Flight Command wants to know about it. You can access the new report from this link, or by clicking on Tracker Reports in the menu above.

A New Era of Tracking Santa Begins

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A new era of tracking Santa has begun.

Starting in the next few days your Elf Supervisor is going to ask you to file a new report – and this one counts. This is the time we have been talking about all year. This is when you really need to be paying attention.

Today was posted a new report, titled Elf Status. This new report will tell Flight Command and your Elf Supervisor whether or not you are on the job.

Traditionally, we have done in the past something we called the Elf Check-in, which was a way to indicate your readiness before Santa took flight. That old way of doing things is now gone. Tracking Santa is now different in every way and it begins with this new report.

This next week, all Elf Supervisors in each sector will call for your Elf Status report.

It is important that you respond by filing that report when the Elf Supervisor asks for it. It does not matter what your Elf Status report says at this point. But the fact that you respond to YOUR elf supervisor within the window of time called for matters a great deal. This will be one of those reports that applies to your elf evaluation score later next year.

If you file that report that you are on the job it will lead to other very important reports that will count between now and Christmas. This is definitely the time to start paying attention to what is happening.

Also, today and over the next few days – changes have been implemented to our elf registration process. For all new elves coming aboard, as previously announced, a 90-day working period as a FREELANCE ELF is now required BEFORE a new elf will be allowed to become a part of the Elf Community here at SantaTrackers.net and classified as a NORTH POLE ELF.

A freelance elf works by contract for one full season. You can read the contract at this link. All new elves will need to abide by the contract, do their jobs as elves and gain the endorsement of their elf supervisor. This is another way in which tracking Santa is different. No more can an individual sign up as an elf and do no work. They have to actually be an elf tracking Santa for Santa.

A freelance elf still files reports. In fact, the reports are even MORE critical to a freelance elf because a review of their reports over their first 90-days is key to them becoming a North Pole elf.

Regardless of your class as an elf, reporting is now active and it all counts. We are attempting to get 1 billion tracker reports this year. Starting today, those reports count.

But they only count if you file the reports needed when your elf supervisor asks for them. Please do not just send in reports willy-nilly.

In fact, if your reports are not applicable, on-time, and comprehensive they will not help you at all. The point behind all of this is to do a better job of reporting the right information at the right time when Santa needs it.

Right now, Santa’s sleigh is in the test flight period. Your reports during this period matter because we are testing all systems, including the reporting system, as part of the test flights. If your reports show snow where there is really dry heat, it hurts the effort and could count against you.

We also remind you that many reports have changed and some new reports are yet to come out. Please pay attention.

Thanks and happy tracking, elves!