Jack Strier

Jack Strier (1921-1995) was the 3rd recipient of the prestigious Kelly Johnson award in recognition of his valuable contribution to the field of Flight Testing by the Society of Flight Test Engineers (SFTE). After serving as Corsair and Hellcat Marine pilot in WWII, he spent his career at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Starting as an engineer in the Performance & Flying Qualities (P&FQ) Branch in 1952 until his retirement in 1980 as assistant branch chief, he participated in the test and evaluation of almost every aircraft to enter the USAF inventory over a 20-year period. Perhaps his real legacy besides the aircraft he helped perfect, will be the engineers he personally mentored, including more Air Force personnel in the rudiments of P&FQ testing than any other individual to that point. His former students can be found today throughout the flight-test community with aircraft manufacturers, the FAA, NASA, and the DOD.