Onizuka Prop Wash Award
Awarded forContribution to class spirit
LocationEdwards Air Force Base
Country United States
Presented byUnited States Air Force Test Pilot School Students
First awarded1956 (1956)

The Onizuka Prop Wash Award recognizes the student at the United States Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) who contributed most to class spirit and morale.[1] The honoree from each class is selected by his or her fellow students rather than by school faculty. The award is named in memory of TPS graduate Ellison Onizuka who perished in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.[2]

History

The Prop Wash Award was introduced at the USAF Test Pilot school in 1956. The award takes the form of a wooden aircraft propeller to which plaques bearing the name of each honoree are mounted. Prop wash refers to the spiral-shaped slipstream formed behind a rotating propeller on an aircraft. The phrase, Illegitimi non carborundum, a mock-Latin aphorism meaning "Don't let the bastards grind you down" is engraved on the face.[3]

The first recipient of the award was Major Joseph W. Rogers from class 56D who would later set a world speed record in the Convair F-106 Delta Dart.[4] Captain Onizuka was also a recipient when he graduated from the Test Pilot School with class 74B. After Onizuka's death, the members of his class requested a rededication of the award. The inscription was changed in June 1988 for the graduation of TPS class 87B.[3]

There is a lot of Ell here always… I thank you all for giving Ell a permanent place here, because (Edwards) is so important in our lives.

— Lorna Onizuka, 1990, [3]

The USAF Test Pilot School participates in an exchange program with other test communities. U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps students from the Naval Test Pilot School at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland attend the USAF TPS and vice versa. Foreign students may also attend and include those from the Empire Test Pilots' School at Boscombe Down, England, and the EPNER (École du Personnel Navigant d'Essais et de Réception), the French Test Pilots' School.[5] All students at the USAF TPS are eligible to receive the Prop Wash Award.

Recipients

The following table contains an incomplete list of Onizuka Prop Wash award recipients including name, country (if not the United States of America), military branch (if not the United States Air Force), military rank at the time of the award, and USAF Test Pilot School class number.

Ted F. Bowlds, Class 80A
James E. Brown III, Class 86A
Jack D. Fischer, Class 03B
Victor J. Glover, Class 06B
Joe Guthrie, Class 58C
Gregory H. Johnson, Class 94A
Ellison Onizuka, Class 74B
Rick Sturckow, Class 92A
Angela Wallace Suplisson, Class 95A

   *   Individual was killed in a work-related (aviation) accident.
  **   Multiple individuals shared the award.

Name Rank Class Ref
Joseph W. Rogers Major 56D [2]
Orgle D. Godwin Captain 57A [2]
John L. Whitehead Captain 57C [2]
Philip R. O'Brien, Jr. Captain 57D [2]
Ralph C. Rich First lieutenant 58A [2]
Shelton J. Anthony, Jr. Captain 58B [2]
Joseph A. Guthrie, Jr. Captain 58C [2]
Loren R. Brooks, Jr.* Captain 59A [2][6]
Donald R. Maslen Captain 59B [2]
Donald E. Westbrook Captain 59C [2]
John H. Reddoch Captain 60A [2]
Joseph C. Watts (USA) Chief warrant officer 60B [2]
Harley A. Johnson* Captain 60C [2][7]
George D. Knutkowski Captain 61A [2]
Charles S. Aldrich Captain 61C [2]
Jimmie R. Hall Captain 62A [2]
Robert L. Jondahl Captain 62C [2]
Wayne H. Jones Captain 70B [2]
Michael J. Butchko, Jr. Captain 71A [2]
David L. Ferguson Major 71B [2]
Barton B. Switzer Captain 72A [2]
Addison S. Thompson III Major 72B [2]
William B. Hayden (USN) Lieutenant commander 73A [2]
Edwin C. Newman Major 74A [2]
Ellison C. Onizuka* Captain 74B [2]
Richard S. Couch Captain 75A [2]
Ralph J. Luczak Captain 75B [2]
Frank T. Birk Captain 76A [2]
Elton T. Pollock Captain 76B [2]
Kenneth P. Sasine Captain 77A [2]
Gerald L. Rifenburg Captain 77B [2]
Richard T. Banholzer Captain 78A [2]
Donald A. Cornell Captain 78B [2]
John M. DeZonia Captain 79A [2]
Richard V. Reynolds Captain 79B [2]
Ted F. Bowlds Captain 80A [2]
Douglas I. Tudor (Canada) Captain 80B [2]
Ronald W. Shoulars Major 81A [2]
Joe M. Roberts Captain 81B [2]
Steve M. Watson Captain 82A [2]
Kevin M. McNellis Captain 82B [2]
Philip L. Soucy Captain 83A [2]
Larry H. Cooper Major 83B [2]
Douglas V. Palmer Captain 84A [2]
Douglas M. Moss Captain 84B [2]
John D. Rickerson Captain 85A [2]
Lance C. Grace Captain 85B [2]
James E. Brown III Captain 86A [8]
Timothy B. Moore Captain 86B [2]
James A. Jimenez Captain 87A [2]
Stephen M. Ranson (Australia) Flight lieutenant 87B [2]
Charles R. Louie, Jr. Major 88A [2]
Michael R. Green Captain 88B [2]
Mark P. Stucky (USMC) Captain 89A [2]
Harrison H. Whiting Captain 89B [2]
Michael A. Hoobler Captain 90A [2]
Paul G. Smith Captain 90B [2]
Bruce R. Dewitt Captain 91A [2]
Charles A. Sternberg (USN) Lieutenant 91B [2]
Frederick W. Sturckow (USMC) Captain 92A [2]
Stuart M. Rodgers Captain 92B [2]
John Kruzinauskas, Jr. Captain 93A [2]
David W. Allvin Captain 93B [2]
Gregory H. Johnson Captain 94A [9]
Edwin V. Odisho II (USMC) Captain 94B [2]
Angela L. Wallace Captain 95A [10]
Joseph C. Sussingham Major 95B [2]
Patrick M. Tom Captain 96A [2]
Thomas G. Coleman Captain 96B [11]
Donald J. Kaderbek, Jr. Captain 97A [11]
Rick A. Palo Captain 97B [11]
Jeffrey Woods Captain 98A [11]
Om Prakash Captain 98B [12]
Charles S. Greenwald Major 99A [13]
Latheef N. Ahmed Captain 99B [11]
Carl E. Schaefer Captain 00A [11]
Jack D. Fischer Captain 03B [14]
Victor J. Glover (USN) Lieutenant 06B [15]
David Kern Major 08A
Christopher Buckley Captain 08B
Mark Graziano* Major 09A [1]
Jimmy Jones Major 09B
Timothy Spaulding Captain 10A
Edward Steinfort Captain 10B
Timothy Stevens** Major 11A
Christopher Rondeau** Captain 11A
Casey Richardson Major 11B
Jeremy Vanderhal Captain 12A
Juan Jurado Captain 12B
Brian Sinclair (USN) Commander 13A
Christopher Nations Captain 13B [16]
Paul Fulkerson Captain 14B
Ryall Meyer** Major 16B [17]
Chris Thorn** Captain 16B [17]
Charles Brantigan Major 17B
Francesco Guiseppe Panebianco Air Marshal 18B

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Taylor, Annamaria (January 6, 2010). "TPS class 09A graduates". United States Air Force. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. Privately Published. 1994. p. 220.
  3. 1 2 3 USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. Privately Published. 1994. p. 221.
  4. ↑ Young, James (August 2007). "Milestones in Aerospace History at Edwards AFB" (PDF). United States Air Force. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Graduate Course Catalog and Student Handbook, 2007–08" (PDF). USAF TPS Curriculum Standards Division. June 22, 2007. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  6. ↑ Anderson, John C. (March 5, 2010). "Major Loren Read Brooks, Jr". Lehi, Utah: Find A Grave, Inc. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Two Pilots Killed in Canada". The New York Times. April 8, 1964. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  8. ↑ Reynolds, Linda KC (April 13, 2012). "Lockheed chief test pilot hits 1,000 hours in Raptor" (PDF). Aerotech News and Review. Lancaster, California: Aerotech News and Review, Inc. 28 (11): 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  9. ↑ Ellis, Lee (January 2004). Who's Who of NASA Astronauts. River Falls, Wisconsin: Americana Group Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 0966796144.
  10. ↑ "Suplisson (nee Wallace) Biography". Colorado Springs, Colorado: United States Air Force Academy. July 8, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 USAF Test Pilot School Class 00B Graduation Program. Privately Published. June 2001.
  12. ↑ "Prakash Biography". United States Air Force. 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Greenwald Biography". United States Air Force. March 2010. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Fisher Biography" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Glover Biography" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  16. ↑ Amber, Rebecca (June 18, 2014). "Test Pilot School grads to embark on new horizons". United States Air Force. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Test Pilot School graduates Class 16B". United States Air Force. June 15, 2017. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
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