We are deeply saddened to share the unexpected passing of our esteemed Board Member, Chuck Coleman.
Charles “Chuck” Thomas Coleman, a proud University of Michigan engineering alum, was an accomplished test pilot, ATP pilot, mechanical engineer, instructor, A&P, mechanic, and aerobatic performer for more than 35 years. As a pilot, Chuck had over 10,400 flight hours in over 150 aircraft types, with commercial ratings in airplanes, helicopters, gliders, and seaplanes.
As a mechanical design engineer, Chuck served as a senior design engineer for McDonnell Douglas on various military aircraft, such as the F15, F18, AV8B, YF23, C17, and A12. Chuck was also a design engineer and test pilot for BD Jet Corporation, test-piloting the BD10 and BD12 jet planes.
Chuck joined Scaled Composites in Mojave in 2002 as a performance engineer, test pilot, and chase pilot. He was part of a team of five engineers who designed, constructed, and flight-tested the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, the first jet-powered aircraft to fly around the world nonstop and unrefueled. While working with Scaled Composites, he was the chase and instructor pilot for historic flights for the Global Flyer, WhiteKnightOne, and SpaceShipOne. Chuck also conducted high-G astronaut training for SpaceShip One astronauts, training Mike Melville, the first private astronaut in history. He was also a test pilot for the Proteus high-altitude jet, which he flew worldwide.
Chuck also contributed immensely to film and television. He provided aerial support for the documentary Black Sky: Race for Space, which won the Peabody Award in 2005. He was an aerobatic flight instructor for the actors in Top Gun: Maverick, dubbed “Tom Cruise’s School of Flying.” He performed 140 training flights with the film actors to enhance their g-force tolerance for filming and flight in F/A-18s during the making of the film.
As an airshow pilot, Chuck was known for his precision and thrilling performances in his Extra Flugzeugbau EA300L, which he logged over 4,000 hours in. Over the years, he participated in hundreds of airshows across the United States, giving over 3,000 aerobatic rides in aircraft. He enjoyed inspiring children to fly and attracted flight students worldwide to Mojave, Calif., where he taught upset recovery training, unusual altitudes, and aerobatic flight.
Chuck was also a part of two Collier Trophy-winning projects, including the development of the McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster (1994) and Scaled Composites’ SpaceShipOne (2004). He also was a part of the Scaled Composites team that won the Ansari X Prize.
Chuck was an associate fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, served as treasurer on the board of directors for the Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field, and was our colleague on the board of directors for the Flight Test Historical Foundation. He was also passionate about STEM education and frequently visited schools and universities to guest lecture about flight and mechanical engineering.
Blue Skies, our friend. You will be missed but never forgotten.
