These people are literally the best of the best. The flight directors currently develop and manage all setup and test procedures, and create all the associated documentation. Once we exceed the Mu-1 barrier, the flight directors will assume responsibility for flight testing.

Lieutenant Colonel Carl A. Hawkins (Ret.)

Lieutenant Col. Hawkins (Golden Arms) currently flies for Delta Airlines after recently retiring from the United States Air Force. Carl commanded the 339th Flight Test Squadron at Robins, AFB Georgia before leaving the Air Force. In this role, Carl led the largest, most diversified flight test squadron in the Air Force. He has tested a wide variety number of aircraft, including the F-111, F-15 and C-23 Sherpa. He was directly responsible for all F-15, F-111, C-130 and UH-1N flight tests at Eglin Air Force Base. A distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, Carl also later instructed and taught complex flight test techniques to future test pilots. Carl has a bachelor's degree in Engineering Sciences, a Master in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Management from Golden Gate University. Carl has more than 4,700 hours in more than 50 different aircraft and is a member of the Society of Experimental TestPilots.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul G. Smith (Ret.)

Lieutenant Colonel Smith (Golden Arms) was the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Joint Test Force Commander and Chief Government X-35 test pilot. Paul led 22 hand-picked Air Force, Navy, Marine and United Kingdom flight test engineers and pilots and oversaw the efforts of Boeing and Lockheed Martin in their X-35 and X-32 flight test program. He conducted flight testing on all models of the F-16 and F-15. Paul is a graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and taught there as an instructor. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a Masters in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Paul has more than 3,000 hours of flight time in more than 50 different aircraft and is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Lieutenant Colonel Russ Sellers (Ret.)

Lieutenant Colonel Sellers (Golden Arms) recently retired from the United States Air Force. Russ was the Operations Officer of the 40th Flight Test Squadron and the Chief of Base Safety at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He flew F-15 and F-16 avionics, flying qualities, propulsion, structures, and weapons developmental tests, and was the Chief Test Pilot for the QF-4 unmanned aircraft development and test program. A graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, he also served on the Test Pilot School staff as an F-15, F-16, and C-23 instructor pilot, and directed the aircraft performance test training program. Russ has a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Mathematical Sciences from the United States Air Force Academy. He has over 3,500 flight hours in over fifty different types of aircraft, and is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Major Tom P. Currie, Jr.

Major Currie (Golden Arms) currently leads the CV-22 Integrated Test Team at Edwards AFB. In this position, he commands a diverse 200 person team dedicated to the testing and development of the CV-22 Osprey for the Air Force Special Operations Command. Tom has conducted initial envelope expansion, structural demonstrations, performance tests, and handling quality evaluations in the MV-22 and CV-22 Tiltrotor prototype aircraft. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Auburn University. Tom graduated from the United States Navy Test Pilot School and has more than 3,000 hours in many fixed and rotary wing aircraft with more than 2,400 rotary wing hours and almost 200 hours in tiltrotor aircraft. He is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the American Helicopter Society.

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