The Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) is an international organization dedicated to improving air safety by supporting the education and professional development of test pilots. The society promotes sound aeronautical design and development techniques and encourages the exchange of ideas among its members. [1] SETP was initially formed in 1955 by a small group of US civilian test pilots at a café near Edwards Air Force Base and as of 2022 [update] has grown to include over 2,400 members from over thirty countries. [2] The society hosts symposia and workshops in the United States, Canada, Europe, and India. [3] Member success is recognized and celebrated by yearly awards in areas including flight test performance, technical management, and flight test safety. [4] The society publishes a record of its activities in Cockpit magazine. [5]
The following tables are drawn from living and deceased society members, honorary fellows, former members, and friends of the society.
Status | |
---|---|
AF | Recognized as an associate fellow of SETP [6] |
AM | Recognized as an associate member of SETP [6] |
CM | Recognized as a charter or founding member of SETP [7] |
F | Recognized as a fellow of SETP [6] |
FR | Recognized as a friend of SETP [8] |
HF | Recognized as an honorary fellow of SETP [6] |
M | Recognized as a member of SETP [6] |
P | Served as a president of SETP [9] |
The following table contains current members of the society and those who were members at the time of their death.
* Individual was killed in an aviation-related accident.
The following table contains honorary fellows of the society both living and dead. A complete list of Honorary Fellows is published by the society. [198]
* Individual was killed in an aviation-related accident.
Name | Country | Status | Notability |
---|---|---|---|
Fred Ascani | ![]() | HF | Father of systems engineering at Wright Field, [230] F-86 speed record [231] |
Jacqueline Auriol | ![]() | HF | Pioneering woman aviator who set several world speed records [232] |
Roland Beamont | ![]() | HF | First British pilot to exceed Mach 1 in a British aircraft in level flight [233] |
Edward A. Bellande | ![]() | HF | Early aviator who received the Airmail Flyers' Medal of Honor in 1935 [234] |
Albert Boyd | ![]() | HF | Father of modern flight testing, [235] [236] P-80 airspeed record [237] |
Mark E. Bradley | ![]() | HF | Pioneering test pilot and commander of USAF Logistics Command [238] |
Vance Breese | ![]() | HF | First flights of the N-1M [239] and XP-61 [240] |
Colin E. Brown | ![]() | HF | Fourteen victory ace in World War I [241] |
Eric M. Brown | ![]() | HF | Flew more types of aircraft (487) than anyone else in history [242] |
Jean-Loup Chrétien | ![]() | HF | Soyuz T-6, Soyuz TM-7 / Mir Aragatz / Soyuz TM-6, STS-86 [243] |
Jacqueline Cochran | ![]() | HF | Pioneering woman racing pilot, [244] multiple speed and altitude records [245] |
Thomas F. Connolly | ![]() | HF | Development of the F-14 Tomcat, [246] USN Test Pilot School director [247] |
Lawrence C. Craigie | ![]() | HF | First US military jet pilot, director of R&D at HQ USAF [248] |
Irv Culver | ![]() | HF | Helped design the USA's first operational jet fighter, named LM's Skunk Works [249] |
John Cunningham | ![]() | HF | Night fighter ace during World War II [250] |
William V. Davis | ![]() | HF | The Three Seahawks USN aerobatic team, [251] USN Test Pilot School director [252] |
Jimmy Dell | ![]() | HF | BAC TSR-2 testing [253] |
Jimmy Doolittle | ![]() | HF | Record-breaking speed flights, air racer, development and flight-test of instrument flying [254] |
Neville Duke | ![]() | HF | Fighter ace of World War II, 1953 air speed record, Hawker Hunter development [255] |
Ira C. Eaker | ![]() | HF | 1926 Pan American Goodwill Flight, 1929 world flight endurance record [256] |
Edward L. Feightner | ![]() | HF | Fighter ace of World War II, Vought F7U Cutlass flight test, Blue Angels solo [257] |
Benjamin Foulois | ![]() | HF | First US military aviator, first US radio/air reconnaissance [258] |
Eduardo Gallarza | ![]() | HF | First flight from Madrid to Manila in 1926 [259] |
Chalmers Goodlin | ![]() | HF | Bell X-1 flight testing [260] |
Robert L. Hall | ![]() | HF | Design and test of F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat [261] |
Harold R. Harris | ![]() | HF | First flight of the Barling Bomber, [262] first American military pilot saved by a parachute [263] |
Alex Henshaw | ![]() | HF | Distance records, chief test pilot for Vickers Armstrongs [264] |
Stanley Hiller | ![]() | HF | Pioneering developer of the helicopter [265] |
Walter Horton | ![]() | HF | Co-designer of the world's first jet-powered flying wing, the Horten Ho 229 [266] |
Ben O. Howard | ![]() | HF | Air racer [267] and flight test of multiple Douglas aircraft [268] |
Howard Hughes | ![]() | HF | Record-setting air racer, founder of Hughes Aircraft Company [269] |
Benjamin S. Kelsey | ![]() | HF | Fighter development during World War II [270] |
Charles Lindbergh | ![]() | HF | First solo transatlantic flight [271] |
Grover Loening | ![]() ![]() | HF | Formed the Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation in 1917 [272] |
Donald S. Lopez Sr. | ![]() | HF | Ace of World War II, early jet fighter testing, deputy director of National Air and Space Museum [273] |
Neal V. Loving | ![]() | HF | First double amputee to be licensed as a racing pilot [274] |
John A. Macready | ![]() | HF | Record setting flights for altitude, distance, and endurance [275] |
Jimmie Mattern | ![]() | HF | Aviation world record attempts, P-38 flight test [276] |
William H. McAvoy | ![]() | HF | First flight of the Grumman XFF-1 [277] |
Johnny Miller | ![]() | HF | Autogyro pioneer [278] [279] |
Georgy Mosolov | ![]() | HF | First flight in the prototype MiG-21 [280] |
Harald Penrose | ![]() | HF | Former chief test pilot at Westland Aircraft and aviation author [281] |
Robert B. Pirie | ![]() | HF | Former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for air [282] |
Paul Poberezny | ![]() | HF | Founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) [283] |
Jeffrey Quill | ![]() | HF | Former chief test pilot for Vickers, aviation author [284] |
Günther Rall | ![]() | HF | Third most successful fighter pilot in aviation history [285] with 275 victories [286] |
Hanna Reitsch | ![]() | HF | Flight tested many of Germany's new aircraft during World War II [287] |
T. Claude Ryan | ![]() | HF | Founder of Ryan Aeronautical [288] |
Jean-Marie Saget | ![]() | HF | Former chief test pilot for Dassault Aviation [289] |
Alexander P. de Seversky | ![]() ![]() | HF | Founder of the Seversky Aero Corporation [290] |
Igor Sikorsky | ![]() ![]() | HF | Aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft [291] |
Ozires Silva | ![]() | HF | Founder of Embraer [292] |
Thomas Sopwith | ![]() | HF | Aviation pioneer and founder of Sopwith Aviation Company [293] |
Percival H. Spencer | ![]() | HF | Early aviator and inventor who made his first solo flight in 1914 [294] |
Robert Stanley * | ![]() | HF | First American to fly a jet aircraft as a test pilot for Bell Aircraft [295] [296] |
James Stockdale | ![]() | HF | USN test pilot awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War [297] |
Russell Thaw | ![]() | HF | First flight of the XF3D-1 [298] |
Frederick M. Trapnell | ![]() | HF | First US Navy pilot to fly a jet aircraft, co-founder of USN Test Pilot School [299] |
Roscoe Turner | ![]() | HF | Three-time winner of the Thompson Trophy air race [300] |
Peter Twiss | ![]() | HF | First to fly a jet aircraft faster than 1,000 mph [301] |
Alfred V. Verville | ![]() | HF | Aviation pioneer responsible for retractable landing gear [302] [303] |
Ken Wallis | ![]() | HF | Development of autogyros [304] |
Ernest K. Warburton | ![]() | HF | Chief of the Air Materiel Command's Flight Test Division at Wright Field [305] |
Waldo Waterman | ![]() | HF | Developed a tailless flying car known as the Waterman Arrowbile [306] |
Frank Whittle | ![]() | HF | Inventor of the turbojet engine [307] |
Steve Wittman * | ![]() | HF | Pioneering air-racer and aircraft engineer [308] |
Henri Ziegler | ![]() | HF | Founder and first president of Airbus [309] |
Janusz Żurakowski | ![]() | HF | Flight test of Canadian supersonic aircraft [310] |
The following table contains former members of the society both living and dead. Members may resign from the society by submitting a written notice. [311] The society does not publish the names of former members so inclusion in this table must be determined by reliable sources other than the society itself (e.g. a public statement from the former member, biographies from a reliable source showing membership was dropped, etc).
Name | Country | Status | Notability |
---|---|---|---|
Scott Carpenter | ![]() | M | Mercury-Atlas 7 [312] [313] |
Brent W. Jett | ![]() | M | STS-72, STS-81, STS-97, STS-115 [314] [315] |
Barry Schiff | ![]() | M | Speed records [316] and aviation author [317] |
Rusty Schweickart | ![]() | M | Apollo 9 [318] [319] |
The following table contains individuals who were not eligible for membership but assisted the society in its endeavors and were recognized as a friend of the society. A complete list of friends is published by the society. [320]
Name | Country | Status | Notability |
---|---|---|---|
Richard P. Hallion | ![]() | FR | Author and former USAF historian [321] |
David Hartman | ![]() | FR | First host of ABC's Good Morning America , [322] SETP symposia moderator [323] |
Barron Hilton | ![]() | FR | Chairman of Hilton Hotels Corporation [324] |
Edward Higgins White II was an American aeronautical engineer, United States Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. He was a member of the crews of Gemini 4 and Apollo 1.
Joe Frank Edwards Jr., , is an American aerospace engineer,former naval officer, aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut.
Stuart Allen Roosa was an American aeronautical engineer, smokejumper, United States Air Force pilot, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 14 mission. The mission lasted from January 31 to February 9, 1971, and was the third mission to land astronauts on the Moon. While Shepard and Mitchell spent two days on the lunar surface, Roosa conducted experiments from orbit in the Command Module Kitty Hawk. He was one of 24 men to travel to the Moon, which he orbited 34 times.
Fred Wallace Haise Jr. is an American former NASA astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, and a test pilot. He is one of 24 people to have flown to the Moon, having flown as Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 13. He was slated to become the 6th person to walk on the Moon, but the Apollo 13 landing mission was aborted en route.
Robert Laurel Crippen is an American retired naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and retired astronaut. He traveled into space four times: as pilot of STS-1 in April 1981, the first Space Shuttle mission; and as commander of STS-7 in June 1983, STS-41-C in April 1984, and STS-41-G in October 1984. He was also a part of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL), Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT), ASTP support crew member, and the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) for the Space Shuttle.
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. is an American aerospace engineer, retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut, in which capacity he became the first African American to go to space. While assigned to NASA, he remained a USAF officer rising to the rank of colonel. He participated in four Space Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992. In 1983, as a member of the crew of the Orbiter Challenger on the mission STS-8, he became the first African American in space as well as the second black person in space, after Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez.
Karol Joseph "Bo" Bobko was an American aerospace engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and a USAF and NASA astronaut. Bobko was the first graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy to travel in space and the first person to fly on a space shuttle on three different missions: STS-6, STS-51-D, STS-51-J.
Joe Henry Engle is an American pilot, aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He was the commander of two Space Shuttle missions including STS-2 in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew two flights in the Shuttle program's 1977 Approach and Landing Tests. Engle is one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA, and the last surviving test pilot of the aircraft. After Richard H. Truly died in 2024, Engle is now the last surviving crew member of STS-2.
Charles Gordon Fullerton was a United States Air Force colonel, a USAF and NASA astronaut, and a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California. His assignments included a variety of flight research and support activities piloting NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and other multi-engine and high performance aircraft.
Daniel Charles Brandenstein is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of United Space Alliance. He is a former Naval Aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut, who flew four Space Shuttle missions. He also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1987 to 1992.
Duane Gene "Digger" Carey is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and a former NASA astronaut. He piloted the space shuttle Columbia on March 1, 2002, during a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.
Brian Duffy is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard four Space Shuttle missions.
Frederick Drew Gregory is a former United States Air Force pilot, military engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut as well as former NASA Deputy Administrator. He also served briefly as NASA Acting Administrator in early 2005, covering the period between the departure of Sean O'Keefe and the swearing in of Michael D. Griffin.
James Alton McDivitt Jr. was an American test pilot, United States Air Force (USAF) pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut in the Gemini and Apollo programs. He joined the USAF in 1951 and flew 145 combat missions in the Korean War. In 1959, after graduating first in his class with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Michigan through the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) program, he qualified as a test pilot at the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School and Aerospace Research Pilot School, and joined the Manned Spacecraft Operations Branch. By September 1962, McDivitt had logged over 2,500 flight hours, of which more than 2,000 hours were in jet aircraft. This included flying as a chase pilot for Robert M. White's North American X-15 flight on July 17, 1962, in which White reached an altitude of 59.5 miles (95.8 km) and became the first X-15 pilot to be awarded Astronaut Wings.
Donald Ray McMonagle is a former astronaut and a veteran of three shuttle flights. He became the Manager, Launch Integration, at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on August 15, 1997. In this capacity he was responsible for final shuttle preparation, launch execution, and return of the orbiter to KSC following landings at any other location. He was chair of the Mission Management Team, and was the final authority for launch decision.
William Reid "Bill" Pogue was an American astronaut and pilot who served in the United States Air Force (USAF) as a fighter pilot and test pilot, and reached the rank of colonel. He was also a teacher, public speaker and author.
Russell Lee Rogers, , was an American electrical engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and astronaut in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
James Wayne Wood, , was an American aeronautical engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and astronaut in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
Robert Aitken "Bob" Rushworth was a United States Air Force major general, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War pilot, mechanical and aeronautical engineer, test pilot and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. He flew 34 of the program's 199 flights, more than any other pilot.
Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton, Jr., , was a civilian research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from August 1, 1966, until July 3, 1986, following 23 years of distinguished service as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
accepted as a full member in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 2011
accepted for membership on 6 September 1967
a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Charles T. Coleman (M)
fellow in the ... Society of Experimental Test Pilots
ADM Thomas Hayward, USN (Ret) (AM)
a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Yves Rossy (M)
Guest Speaker Burt Rutan (F)
Peter Siebold (AF)
the Douglas XF3D Skyknight made its first flight, with Douglas test pilot Russell Thaw at the controls
2004 NASA bio does not show SETP membership
NHHC source states he was a member of SETP
2013 NASA Bio deleted SETP membership
1997 NASA bio states he was an SETP member
has been a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
2006 NASA Bio deleted SETP membership
1999 NASA Bio shows he was a Member of SETP