Foil: 5 Panel: 3 Column: 3 Line: 53

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

Richard D. Finlayson, MSc, BSEE, CF, RAF, CD1, SSM, CANADA 125
Major Richard David Finlayson, CF (ret.) has a military career that spans 30 years (1969-1998) and involves service in two different militaries. Richard began his military career in 1969 in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) as a boy entrant electrical apprentice. He subsequently worked as a technician with the RAF and then the Canadian Air Force (CF). As a technician he worked on such aircraft as the Vulcan swept wing aircraft, the turbo prop Hercules and the jet engine Boeing 707. In 1981, with the Canadian Air Force (CF), Richard was selected to attend a military college to become an officer and an electrical engineer. He attended 2 years at both of the military colleges in Canada and graduated in 1985 with his Bachelor degree in electrical engineering. He then attended a yearlong aerospace course and was subsequently transferred to Germany for a tour of duty as the maintenance officer on F-18 aircraft and as a NATO War Scenario Evaluator for all NATO countries. After three years in Germany Richard was selected to attend graduate training at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and graduated from Welding Engineering in 1991 with a Master's degree in Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE). Richard then spent 3 years in a government research establishment performing NDE for the Air Force. In 1994 Richard was promoted to Major and was transferred to the NDE and Condition Monitoring office as the Program Manager for the Canadian Air Force. He also was required to maintain inspection quality standards for the CF through promoting education, training and qualification/certification for both programs. Richard retired from the military in 1998 to work in industry.