Dr. Howard Nelson Chipman III was born in the Bahamas as a US citizen. He later moved to Canada where he joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadets program, which motto is "To Learn To Serve To Advance".
Dr. Chipman went on to do just that, not only in flight but also as an MD. He became a Board-Certified Emergency Doctor, working at local hospitals and at his own private practice clinic, as well as conducting medical studies on an on-going basis.
His flying career led him to log many hours in multiple aircraft, and he even flew different Migs in Russia to prepare him for space travel.
In 2006, he met his fiancee, Veronique B. Koken, and together they set up Aurora Aerospace, the only civilian space training center to date offering flights in an Albatross L-39 military jet; zero-gravity flights in a Rockwell Commander 700; simulator training; hypoxia training; and spatial disorientation training in a multi-axis disorientation machine.
Dr. Chipman is the Chief Pilot and CEO of Aurora Aerospace, which is a Space Ambassador alongside Virgin Galactic. The company has participated in multiple conferences to support aviation and space, and has donated flights to charities and students worldwide, including the US Air Force Auxiliary Cadets.
Dr. Chipman's next goal is to fly a Mig 21 in the US, then move onto sub-orbital flight, ultimately reaching his dream of going to space.
For the moment, he enjoys teaching his boys, Alexander and Nicholas Koken, how to fly in gliders, standard aircraft, and high-performance jets.