|
LM Aero Test Pilot Honored With Yeager Award
LM Aero test pilot Jon Beesley was recognized for his work on the F-22, F-16, and F-117 programs in February when he received the prestigious Chuck Yeager Award from the Engineers Council. Selection criteria for the Yeager award reflect a lifetime career of dedication to the progress of aerospace tech-nology. Beesley’s flight test career began in 1981, when he was one of the initial US Air Force test pilots for the F-117 program. He joined Lockheed Martin (then General Dynamics) in Fort Worth in 1986 and worked on night attack systems for the F-16.
In the early 1990s, Beesley flew the YF-22 during the Demonstration Validation phase of the Advanced Tactical Fighter program. These flights involved high angle-of-attack tests, AIM-9 separation tests, and flight control development. His current responsibilities as an F-22 test pilot at the F-22 Combined Test Force at Edwards AFB, California, include handling qualities development and high angle-of-attack testing. He has accumulated over 120 hours in the F-22 and approximately 5,000 total hours in over forty other aircraft types. |
