Onizuka Prop Wash Award
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]
Onizuka Prop Wash Award | |
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Awarded for | Contribution to class spirit |
Location | Edwards Air Force Base |
Country | ![]() |
Presented by | United States Air Force Test Pilot School Students |
First awarded | 1956 |
History
The Prop Wash Award was introduced at the USAF Test Pilot school in 1956. The award takes the form of a wooden aircraft propellor 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.
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![](../I/m/LTC_Angela_Wallace_Suplisson_2010_USAFA_Faculty.jpg)
* 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
- Taylor, Annamaria (January 6, 2010). "TPS class 09A graduates". United States Air Force. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. Privately Published. 1994. p. 220.
- USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond. Privately Published. 1994. p. 221.
- 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.
- "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.
- Anderson, John C. (March 5, 2010). "Major Loren Read Brooks, Jr". Lehi, Utah: Find A Grave, Inc. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- "Two Pilots Killed in Canada". New York Times. April 8, 1964. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- 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.
- Ellis, Lee (January 2004). Who's Who of NASA Astronauts. River Falls, Wisconsin: Americana Group Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 0966796144.
- "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.
- USAF Test Pilot School Class 00B Graduation Program. Privately Published. June 2001.
- "Prakash Biography". United States Air Force. 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- "Greenwald Biography". United States Air Force. March 2010. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- "Fisher Biography" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- "Glover Biography" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- Amber, Rebecca (June 18, 2014). "Test Pilot School grads to embark on new horizons". United States Air Force. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- "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.
External links
- "Aviation Awards & Honoraria". Paradise, California: Aerofiles. December 2, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2012.