The Society periodically presents awards for recognition of excellence in flight test engineering and significant contributions to the Society. The award for excellence in flight test engineering is a single annual award known as the Kelly Johnson Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Flight Test Engineering, with the initial award having been presented to Clarence J. "Kelly" Johnson at the 1973 Symposium. Nominations can be submitted through the online Nomination Form.
| Year | Recipient | Corporate Affiliation |
| 1973 | Clarence L. 'Kelly' Johnson | Lockheed Skunk Works |
| 1974 | Ronald A. Magnuson | Bell Helicopter |
| 1975 | Jack Strier | US Air Force (Deceased) |
| 1976 | Harold Cheney | McDonnell Douglas |
| 1977 | Richard Abrams | Rockwell (Deceased) |
| 1978 | Robert D. Samuelson | McDonnell Douglas |
| 1979 | Spirit 'TM' Flight Test Team | Sikorsky |
| 1980 | Donald D. Archer | Boeing (Deceased) |
| 1981 | XV-15 Flight Test Team | Bell Helicopter |
| 1982 | Frederick W. Schaefer | Grumman |
| 1983 | Frederick N. Stoliker | US Air Force Flight Test Center |
| 1984 | James H. Lincoln | Boeing |
| 1985 | Chester B. Payne | Lockheed |
| 1986 | Charles E. 'Pete' Adolph | US Air Force Flight Test Center |
| 1987 | William E. Jennings | Bell Helicopter |
| 1988 | Eugene J. Zehr | McDonnell Douglas (Deceased) |
| 1989 | Kenneth W. Iliff | NASA Dryden Flight Research Center |
| 1990 | Roger C. Crane | US Air Force Flight Test Center |
| 1991 | Joint STARS Test Team | Grumman Melbourne Systems, USAF, US Army |
| 1992 | Donald R. 'Sam' Wyrick (Posthumously) | Lockheed |
| 1993 | David E. Gibbings | Westland Helicopters |
| 1994 | F-16 Multi-Axis Thrust Vectoring Test Team | General Electric, Lockheed, US Air Force |
| 1995 | Joseph L. Dunn | Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division |
| 1996 | Charles V. Van Norman | US Air Force Flight Test Center (Deceased) |
| 1997 | Richard R. Hildebrand | US Air Force Flight Test Center |
| 1998 | Anatoly G. Kruglov | Aviation Register, Russia |
| 1999 | R. Dale Reed | NASA Dryden Flight Research Center |
| 2000 | Frank W. Burcham | NASA Dryden Flight Research Center |
| 2001 | Col. George Ka'iliwai III | USAF Test Pilot School |
| 2002 | Charles E. 'Chuck' Webb | Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division |
| 2003 | X-31 Vector Flight Test Team | US Navy, Boeing, EADS, DLR, BWB, RJK Tech. |
| 2004 | Burt Rutan | Scaled Composites |
| 2005 | Johnny Armstrong | US Air Force Flight Test Center |
| 2006 | Gary L. Aldrich | USAF Test Pilot School |
| 2007 | Robert G. ""Bob" Hoey | US Air Force Flight Test Center |
| 2008 | Robert N. Burton | BAE Systems @ LMA Ft Worth |
| 2009 | Prof. Ken Edwards | QinetiQ |
| 2010 | John Minor | Hill Air Force Base |
| 2011 | LtCol Timothy R. Jorris, Phd | USAF Test Pilot School |
| 2012 | David L. Vanhoy | UASF Test Pilot School |
| 2013 | Reagan K. Woolf | Air Force Test Center |
| 2014 | Frank S. Brown | Air Force Test Center |
| 2015 | Alan R. Lawless | Honda Aircraft |