The 2019 Annual Conference of the Aeronautical Society of South Africa (a division of the Royal Aeronautical Society) takes place on 16-18 October 2019 at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria. Its theme is African Aerospace: Innovation & Passion. For more information, visit www.aessa.org.za

This year the event has drawn a stellar cast of keynote speakers. Meet our two international speakers, Billie Flynn, Lockheed Martin, F-35 Lightning II Test Pilot and Ricardo Traven, Chief Test Pilot – Boeing Charleston.787 Dreamliner Program.

Billie Flynn is a Lockheed Martin Fellow and the senior experimental test pilot for the F-35 program. He is also the F-35 Demo Pilot who displayed the Lightning II at the 2017 Paris Air Show. In 2003, Billie joined Lockheed Martin as a test pilot for the F-16 E/F Super Viper. In June 2012, he became the 39th pilot to fly the F-35 when he took off in an F-35B. He continues today conducting flight test on all F-35 variants.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Billie served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 23 years and flew the CF-18 Hornet operationally in both Canada and Germany. From 1984 to 1988, he was posted to the 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron based in Canadian Forces Base Baden-Soellingen in Germany, attending the Tactical Leadership Programme at Jever Air Base. He left Germany in 1989 to attend the United States Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. From 1990-94, he flew as the Canadian Air Force exchange test pilot at the F-16 Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1997, he was assigned as Commanding Officer of 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta. During this period, he commanded the Canadian Task Force in Aviano, Italy, during Operation Allied Force. He flew 25 combat missions over Kosovo and the former Republic of Yugoslavia, where his unit received Battle Honours from Queen Elizabeth II, the first such distinction for a Canadian fighting unit since World War II. Following his tour as Commander, he retired from the Canadian Forces. In 1999, he became a test pilot for the European Aerospace and Defence Company based in Munich, Germany. During this time, he tested the Eurofighter Typhoon, focusing on flight control development and radar testing, as well as testing the F-4 E/F and Tornado fighters.

Billie was born in Rostrup, Germany. He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. He has a Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University Fresno, a Master of Science Degree in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee, as well as a Master’s in Business Administration Degree from the University of Ottawa. In 2008, Billie was inducted as a Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) and served as SETP President from 2010-2011.

He has more than 5 000 flight hours in more than 80 different aircraft.

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Ricardo Traven is the Lead Test Pilot for the 787 Dreamliner located in Charleston SC. He was formerly the Chief Test Pilot for all models of the Hornet family of aircraft, including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler. He also is the Boeing Air Show Demonstration Pilot for the Super Hornet and also supported the 737 flight testing on the Australian Wedge tail program and served as one of the lead test pilots on the Navy’s P-8A program envelope expansion. He was an engineering test pilot on the 787-10 program and flew first flight of the second aircraft and many engineering test flights to certify the 787-10.

A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and a former U.S. Navy Test Pilot School instructor, Traven has more than 25 years of experience as a fighter pilot and test pilot. He retired from the Canadian Forces as a Major,and joined The Boeing Company in 1997.

As a test pilot, Traven has been instrumental in a number of key F/A-18 programs. While in the military, he developed the F/A-18 out-of-control and spin training program, the F/A-18 rig-test program, and flew as project pilot on NASA’s F/A-18 high alpha research vehicle. He also served as an instructor at the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School. Since joining Boeing, he became a senior experimental test pilot on the Super Hornet development program flying many of the high AOA and spin test flights. He was influential in the development of the pirouette flight control logic for high AOA maneuverability, the wing drop flight test program, the Vmc flight control logic, and the 10.7 FCC logic that vastly improves the high AOA flying qualities of the heritage F/A-18 Hornet using E/F technologies. He was the principal test pilot in designing and developing air show maneuvers for the Super Hornet.

Traven has published numerous engineering technical papers on the F/A-18 flight control system and F/A-18 flight-testing at high AOA. He is frequently invited to speak about F/A-18 flight-testing, flight controls and out-of-control recovery techniques to customers worldwide, professional societies and universities.

For his work, Traven was named U.S. Navy Test Pilot of the Year in 1995. He is a three-time recipient of the Ray E. Tenhoff Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). He was elected as President of the SETP National Board in 2007-2008. Prior to this position, he served on all positions of the Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the Society.

Traven has flown Super Hornet demonstration flights at air shows around the world since 2001. In 2004 at the Royal International Air Tattoo in England, Traven was awarded the coveted King Hussein Memorial Sword for the best overall flight demonstration, and the As The Crow Flies Award for the best air display. He also was selected best foreign solo jet display by UK Air Show Review.

During his career, Traven has flown more than 5,000 hours in more than 60 models of aircraft, including the F-16, F-15, A-7, F-4, F-5 and T-2. He has logged more than 3,000 hours in all models of the Hornet, and more than 1,000 hours in the Super Hornet, and was a combat-ready fighter pilot in NORAD and NATO.

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