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Awards

by Barbra Wood and Christian Buck

This page is kept as is from 2021. Newer updates are found on the main site: sfte.org

Jesualdo Martinez Award

As a memorial for Jesualdo and our colleagues who have sacrificed their lives while performing their job, the European Chapter has established this award. The candidacies will be received by the European Chapter Board, and the award will be delivered every two years.

2019
Gerard Desbois Airbus
2021 Andrew Nixon Leonardo Helicopters (Yeovil)



"Kelly" Johnson Award

The Society periodically presents awards for recognition of excellence in flight test engineering and significant contributions to the Society. The award for excellence in flight test engineering is a single annual award known as the Kelly Johnson Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Flight Test Engineering, with the initial award having been presented to Clarence J. ‘Kelly’ Johnson at the 1973 Symposium.

1973
Clarence L. 'Kelly' Johnson Lockheed Skunk Works
1974 Ronald A. Magnuson Bell Helicopter
1975 Jack Strier US Air Force
1976 Harold Cheney McDonnell Douglas
1977 Richard Abrams Rockwell
1978 Robert D. Samuelson McDonnell Douglas
1979 Spirit 'TM' Flight Test Team Sikorsky
1980 Donald D. Archer Boeing
1981 XV-15 Flight Test Team Bell Helicopter
1982 Frederick W. Schaefer Grumman
1983 Frederick N. Stoliker US Air Force Flight Test Center
1984 James H. Lincoln Boeing
1985 Chester B. Payne Lockheed
1986 Charles E. 'Pete' Adolph US Air Force Flight Test Center
1987 William E. Jennings Bell Helicopter
1988 Eugene J. Zehr McDonnel Douglas
1989 Kenneth W. Iliff NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
1990 Roger C. Crane US Air Force Flight Test Center
1991 Joint STARS Test Team Grumman Melbourne Systems, USAF, US Army
1992 Donald R. 'Sam' Wyrick Lockheed
1993 David E. Gibbings (Eur.Chapter) Westland Helicopters
1994 F-16 Multi-Axis Thrust Vectoring Test Team General Electric, Lockheed, US Air Force
1995 Joseper L. Dunn Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division
1996 Charles V. Van Norman US Air Force Flight Test Center
1997 Richard R. Hildebrand US Air Force Flight Test Center
1998 Anatoly G. Kruglov Aviation Register, Russia
1999 R. Dale Reed NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
2000 Frank W. Burcham NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
2001 Col. George Ka’iliwai III USAF Test Pilot School
2002 Charles E. ‘Chuck’ Webb Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft division
2003 X-31 Vector Flight Test Team US Navy, Boeing, EADS, DLR, BWB, RJK Tech.
2004 Burt Rutan Scaled Composites
2005 Johnny Armstrong US Air Force Flight Test Center
2006 Gary L. Aldrich USAF Test Pilot School
2007 Robert G. ""Bob" Hoey US Air Force Flight Test Center
2008 Robert N. Burton BAe Systems
2009 Prof. Ken Edwards QinetiQ
2010 John L. Minor Hill AFB
2011 Lt. Col. Timothy Jorris, PhD. US Air Force Test Pilot School
2012 David L. Vanhoy US Air Force Test Pilot School
2013 Reagan K. Woolf Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB
2014 Frank S. Brown Air Force Test Center
2015 Alan R. Lawless Honda Aircraft
2017 Vanessa L. Bond USAF SEEK EAGLE
2018 Tim Dutton Martin Aviation
2019­ Andrew Maack F-35 Pax River ITF Chief Engineer
2020 Kristen Finnegan CH-53K LHD Shipboard Test Team

Mr. Anatoly G. Kruglov is Chairman of the Aviation Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee, located in Moscow, Russia. In this position, Mr. Kruglov is chief of the agency that handles all civil certification issues for the Confederation of Independent States.

In 1960, Mr. Kruglov began working as an aeronautical engineer at the State Scientific Research Institute of the former aircraft, and he advanced within this organisation to Chief of the Flight Test Branch. Since the first days of the
foundation of the State Aviation Register of the USSR (analogous to the FAA in the USA) in 1974, Mr Kruglov worked in this body as Chief of the Aircraft Certification Branch, then as department chief, and then as Chairman of the Aviation Register. In spite of his many duties in this position, he continues to participate directly in flight tests of the latest aircraft, often serving as a flight crew member and flight test engineer.

Throughout his outstanding 38-year career in flight test engineering, Mr. Kruglov has been directly involved in testing 97 types of civil airplanes and helicopters manufactured in Russia, the Ukraine and several other countries. He has participated in the flight tests of 47 aircraft types as flight crew member and flight test engineer.

During his career, Mr. Kruglov has specialised in many of the more critical test phases, such as airspeed and g-load envelop expansion, high angle-of-attack tests, engine and critical system failure testing, and flights in severe ambient conditions.
Among the programs he has conducted are the Tu-104 and Tu-154 flight tests including full-scale simulation of critical flight modes, conducted to discover causes of aircraft crashes; tests of the Tu-114 under excessive take-off gross weights and with two engines failed and tests of the supersonic Tu-144.

In addition to Mr. Kruglov’s contributions in numerous flight test programs, he has facilitated the development of new flight test methods and aircraft certification processes, and significantly furthered the harmonisation of these processes between the FAR (Federal Regulations) and JAR (Joint European Regulation). For his contribution to aviation, he was awarded with governmental orders, as well as the Yury Gagarin and Andrey Tupolev medals. He has helped develop a generation of Russian and Ukrainian flight test engineers.

James S. McDonnell Award

The James S. McDonnell award was created to honor Flight Test Teams. The new Award has been named the “James S. McDonnell Award For Outstanding Team Achievement In The Field Of Flight Test Engineering” and will be awarded each year.

Year Recipient Team Recipient Members
2006 X-43A Flight Test Team NASA Dryden
NASA Langley
Orbital Sciences
2007 EA-18G “Growler” Flight Test Team Boeing St. Louis
Northrop Grumman Bethpage
Northrop Grumman (ES) Baltimore
VX-23 NAS Patuxent River
VX-31, VX-9, Advanced Weapons Lab
NAWC-WD China Lake
VX-30 NAS Pt Mugu
2008 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Test Team &nbsp
2009 T-45 HSRIP Flight Test Team US Navy/Boeing
2010 X-51A Scramjet Engine Test Team Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC)
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC)
Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Point Mugu NAS
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
The Boeing Company
2011 Navy UCAS Integrated Test Team NAVAIR
USAF
Northrop Grumman Corporation
NAVAIR Contract Support Services
2012 Phantom Eye Test Team The Boeing Company
MAHLE Powertrain
NASA Dryden
AFTC
2013 X-51A Scramjet Engine Demonstration Test Team Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC)
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC)
Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Point Mugu NAS
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
The Boeing Company
2014 TAI Flight Test Team Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI)
2015 F/A-18E/F Magic Carpet Test Team USN - USS Nimitz CVN77
NAWC Aircraft Division
Boeing, Atlantic Test Ranges
2016 F/A-18 Block H12 Pt. Mugu Detachment Flight Test Engineering Team ATAC Corp. (Hawker Hunter), Boeing
F/A-18 & EA-18G Advanced Weapon Lab
NAWCWD China Lake & Point Mugu
VFA-15 Virginia Beach
VX-9, VX-31 China Lake
VX-20, VX-23 Patuxent River
82nd Aerial Targets Detachment
NAWC Aircraft Division
2017 F-35C ITF DT-III Team CNAF, NAVAIR, NAWCAD, VFA-101
USN - USS George Washington CVN-73
2018 Perlan II Project
2019 F-35 Integrated Test Force
2020 CH-53K Integrated Test Team Integrated Test Force

Directors's Award

Recognition for significant and lasting contributions toward the welfare, stature, leadership, or membership of the Society is an award known as the Directors Award for Exceptional Dedication and Service to the Society of Flight Test Engineers. This award is given to a deserving individual(s) by the Society Officers and is presented to the recipient at the Annual Business Meeting or Symposium.

1985    
Robert D. 'Bob' Johnstone
Roger H. Jones
US Air Force Flight Test Center (Retired)
Boeing
1986 Jack Strier US Air Force Flight Test Center (Deceased)
1987 George P. Gayest
Ronald E. Hart
Grumman
US Air Force Flight Test Center
1988 Clayton E. Houston Lockheed
1991 Wim Dijkshoorn Fokker (Deceased)
1992 John A. Taylor Veda
1993 J. Roy Combley Boeing (Retired)
1994 Gösta Niss Saab-Scania (retired)
1995 William Cutler Northrop Grumman (Retired)
1996 Roger L. Counts TYBRIN Corporation
1997 Clifford E. Moore Boeing
1998 Harold E. Weaver Boeing
1999 Franz J. Enzinger Daimler Chrysler Aerospace, Germany
2000 Alan R. Lawless National Test Pilot School
2001 Allan T. Webb US Air Force Flight Test Center
2002 Lee S. Gardner
Darcy S. Painter
Air Force Flight Test Center
Air Force Flight Test Center
2003 Dean Carico Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division
2004 Joseph G. Turner
Barbara A. Wood
Boeing
QinetiQ
2005 Tom Briggs Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division
2006 James Sergeant Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
2007 John L. Minor US Air Force Test Pilot School
2008 Edward F. Breau Naval Air System Command
2009 Michael “Andy” Hammer The Boeing Company – Seattle
2010 Michael F. Bartlett The Boeing Company – Seattle
2011 Steven J. Martin Boston, Massachusetts
2012 Brooks B. Faurot Lockheed Martin
2013 Douglas A. Bell The Boeing Company – Long Beach
2014 Sam Carbaugh USAF (Retired)
2015 Kari Seppanen Boeing
2017 Mark Jones Jr Honda Aircraft
2019 Dana Johnson Texas Instruments
2021 Kevin Welch Boeing




Four European Chapters members have been awarded the Director’s Award so far.
In 1991 Wim Dijkshoorn, first European Chapter President was awarded.

In 1994 the Society awarded the Directors' Award to Gösta Niss. Gösta has been a member of the Saab-Scania Company since 1953 and holds a master's degree in aeronautical engineering. He joined the Flight Test Department at Saab-Scania AB in Linköping, Sweden, as a flight test engineer in flight dynamics and has devoted his entire professional life to the flight testing and evaluation of all aircraft developed by Saab-Scania, from Saab 29, "The Flying Barrel", to the current ongoing projects the JAS39 "Gripen" and the Saab 2000. Worthy of special mention is his involvement with and important work on spin testing of both the Saab 35 "Draken" and the Saab 37 "Viggen".

As test manager, Gösta Niss was responsible for the development of test methods as well as for test instrumentation and data reduction.
Another area in which he has been deeply involved is the testing of advanced escape systems for the Saab developed and produced military aircraft.
In 1990 he was appointed member of the "JAS Envelope Expansion Group". Proof of his expertise is the fact that, at the time of retirement, he was requested to still remain with Saab flight test for leading the group and carrying out the high incidence trials of the JAS "Gripen".

Gösta Niss holds a pilot's license for single engine aircraft as well as for sailplanes, and he has won several national and local awards in sport flying competitions. Through his enthusiastic and professional approach to problems in many areas of flight testing, especially flight dynamics and methods to describe and evaluate aircraft behaviour, he has been a very important cog in the successful development of aircraft in Sweden which have been in the forefront of technology. This has made him a very good "teacher" for the new generations of flight test engineers.
He joined SFTE in 1971 as the first Swedish member (membership No. 500). The results of his work through the years have been also given in three papers at SFTE symposia in 1974, 1975, and 1978. Gösta was an eager promoter for the creation of a European chapter in 1990 and was subsequently re-elected for another biennium.

In 1999 Franz Enzinger's commitment to helping lead the growth of the European Chapter earned him the Directors' Award for exceptional dedication and service to the Society of Flight Test Engineers. Franz is a Senior Member of the European Chapter. He joined SFTE in 1987 and soon after became the Chapter representative on the Technical
Council, a position he held until June 1999. In 1993 he was elected Vice President of the Chapter. From 1995 to 1999 he served two terms as President. He was Chairman and led the organising committee for the 1992 European Chapter Symposium in Munich, Germany and the 1995 26th Annual International Symposium in Berlin, Germany.

Since its foundation in 1987 Franz had played an active part in the growth of the European Chapter and contributed significantly to what it represents today, some 200 members in 13 different countries.
Franz is also a graduate of the German Airforce/USAF Pilot Training and Fighter Weapons School. As an operational pilot he flew more than 1000 hours in the Lockheed F-104 G Starfighter. In 1976 he joined Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm (now Daimler Chrysler Aerospace) as a flight test engineer on the Tornado programme. During his 17 years in flight test he held the positions of head of Avionics/Armament, Flight Test Engineering, Flight Test Operations, Flight Test Manager Eurofighter and Deputy Director Flight Test. In addition to his experience and involvement in all major flight test programmes, between 1982 and 1986 he led the Avionics/Armament design team for the future German/European fighter. Franz currently is the Director Marketing/Programmes at the company's Manching plant.

In addition to his membership of SFTE, Franz is a member of AIAA, where he worked for 10 years on the Flight Test Technical Committee, a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and has published papers for SFTE Symposia, AIAA Flight Test Conferences, ITEA and AGARD.

Society of Flight Test Engineers Fellow

The highest grade achievable in the Society is a Society of Flight Test Engineers Fellow. A Fellow has been a Senior Member in good standing for at least two years and has attained a position of notable distinction in the field of flight testing. Fellows are elected by their peers (those Fellows in good standing) and are awarded automatic lifetime membership in the Society along with the distinction and responsibility associated with this honor.

1994    
Richard Abrams Los Angeles, California (Deceased)
1994 Charles E. Adolph Albuquerque, New Mexico
1994 Roger C. Crane Lancaster, California (Deceased)
1994 Jack Strier Lancaster, California (Deceased)
1994 Eugene J. Zehr Manchester, Missouri (Deceased)
1995 Donald D. Archer Clinton, Washington
1996 Clayton E. Houston Marietta, Georgia
1997 Charles V. Van Norman Wellington, Nevada
1998 John W. Beckett Irving, Texas
1999 Allan T. Webb Lancaster, California
2000 Dave J. Houle Laguna Beach, California
2001 James V. Upton Canyon Country, California
2002 Randall C. Smith Arligton, Texas
2003 William J. Norton California City, California
2004 Franz-Josef Enzinger Lenting, Bavaria, Germany
2005 Roger L. Counts Lancaster, California
2006 Harold E. Weaver Ballwin, Missouri.
2006 Ronald E. Hart Keizer Oregon
2007 John L. Minor California City, California
2007 James L. Seargeant Keller, Texas
2008 Joseph T. Dagata, Jr. Lancaster, CA
2008 Barbara A. Wood Wiltshire, England
2009 Gerald Dean Carico Ridge, Maryland
2009 Alan R. Lawless Greensboro, North Carolina
2010 George Cusimano Lancaster, California
2010 David Gibbings Somerset, England
2011 Dan Hrehov Seattle, Washington
2011 Peter Donath Los Angeles, California
2012 Gerald L. Jones Prescot, Arizona
2012 John D. Korstian Benbrook, Texas
2013 David L. Vanhoy Lancaster, California
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