1995 Joseph L. Dunn

NOMINATION OF
JOSEPH L. DUNN
FOR THE
SFTE KELLY JOHNSON
AWARD

Joseph L. Dunn graduated from North Carolina State University in 1965 with a B. S. Degree in aerospace engineering. He received a Masters Degree from George Washington University in 1973. He is a 1967 project engineering graduate of the Unites States Naval Test Pilot School.

Mr. Dunn joined what was then the Naval Air Test Center in June 1965 and has worked there since. The Naval Air Test Center was redesignated the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in 1993. He started his career as a Flying Qualities and Performance Engineer on the Navy F-111 B Test Program. His work experience has been extremely diverse and varied to include the F-4B/J Programs, foreign aircraft evaluation programs including the Mirage G-1 Program in Istres. France and a year at Boscomhe Down. England as the U. S. Navy engineering- representative on the original AV-8A test program. He was a supervisory flight test engineer for the F-14A test program in the early 1970s. His work included oversight of the first Navy Preliminary Evaluation of the swing wing F-14A. Mr. Dunn was assigned as the Navy's Lead Flight Test Engineer to the F/A-18 test program from 1975 until 1982. In this capacity, he was responsible for the day to day execution of the first Principal Site Test Program to ever be conducted at the Naval Air Test Center. The program consisted of 11 Full Scale Development aircraft, over 600 contractor personnel and 250 Navy test personnel. Many of the lessons learned from that program have been applied to the T-45, AV-8B, SH-60B, V-22 Programs as well as the forthcoming F/A- 18EN Engineering Manufacturing and Development (EMD) Program. Mr. Dunn worked as the Technical Director for Projects on the Test Center Staff from 1982 to 1987. From 1987 to 1991, he was the Naval Air Test Center Program Manager for the A-12 Program. His work encompassed all of the flight test planning for the program including preparation of test program specifications, participation in all program design reviews, responsibility for First Flight Readiness Review, and was responsible for the justification, design, and construction of a new $15 million Flight Test Hangar and Engineering Support Facility which will now be used for the F/A-18E/F EMD Program. At the termination of the A-12 program, Mr. Dunn was assigned as the Naval Air Warfare Center Project Coordinator for the AX Program. He was involved in all aspects of that program including responsibility for the planned flight test program. Mr. Dunn is currently the Naval Air Warfare Center Project Coordinator for both the new Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) Program as well as the ARPA Advanced Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) Program. In addition to coordination and programmatic responsibilities, he is heavily involved in the flight test planning for these programs which are now being combined into a single common program.

Mr. Dunn has been the recipient of many previous awards including the Outstanding Engineer of the Year at Patuxent River in 1968, Outstanding Manager of the Year at Patuxent River in 1981, and received the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1991.

Mr, Dunn has been extremely active in the Society of Flight Test Engineers (SFTE) since 1971. He has served as the local chapter president, Co-chairman of the 1986 SFTE International Symposium, session chairman at six different SFTE International Symposiums, presented numerous technical papers at SFTE Symposiums and was a key member of the 1994 SFTE Symposium Host Team. He has also been active in the AIAA through the years as both a technical paper presenter and session chairman at AIAA Flight Test Symposiums.