Santa Returns from Test Flights
Santa spent time last week test flying the latest model of Santa’s sleigh, code-named Daisy.
Santa was the first to test fly Daisy. She is now on the regular test flight schedule.
Santa flew from the North Pole to Belgium and then on the Taiwan. While in these locations Santa toured the new Regional Tracking Centers in Sint-Niklaas and Taipei.
“The regional tracking centers in Sectors 2 and 3 couldn’t be in more diverse locations,” Santa said. “The facilities are impressive and I think the teams there are really ready to contribute to strong flights between now and the end of the year.”
While Santa was effusive in his praise for the regional tracking centers he was pretty reserved in his commentary evaluating the new sleigh.
“Elf Roger and I both got a chance to fly her,” Santa said. “I learned a lot and it won’t be my last time taking her up before Christmas.”
Santa had no comment to share about how the sleigh actually performed.
It is a very rare thing for Santa to test fly a sleigh. That is work he customarily leaves to teams from North Pole Flight Command.
The Sleigh Design team, the Engineering team, and the Flight team out of North Pole Flight Command are usually very territorial about managing the test flights and the sleigh development process.
Elf Roger Star explained: “We want to hand Santa a perfect sleigh on December 23rd. One that is thoroughly tested. To get to that point we work half the year in a process of test flights, evaluations, and sleigh adjustments. Santa this year is in the middle of that process with us – and we’re all a little uncomfortable with that.”
Santa explained why it is necessary that he participate in the test flights this year. “Its not about the sleigh for me,” Santa said. “It’s about me. This new sleigh is so radically different it will change the work I do at Christmas. I’ve got to learn it, even if the Sleigh Department doesn’t have that sleigh just right yet.”
North Pole Flight Command says they don’t know when Santa will be taking the sleigh out for more test flights. We expect to get that news sometime soon.
We will keep you posted. For more information about the test flights, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
- Why So Many Sleighs? - August 16, 2026
- Reaching Out to the Elf on the Shelf - August 16, 2026
- Three Radical Features of Santa’s New Sleigh - August 14, 2026
Thank you, Elf Harold, and Elves Frank and Ceash! I’m glad to hear that Santa seems to be getting used to Daisy. I hope that Santa will test the flights in Sector 1, too. The test flights are near the Laptev Sea, Russia. I hope they will continue to go well and stay safe. Have a nice day and Merry Christmas! 🗺🦌🛷🎅🎄