Charles Thomas “Chuck” Coleman

Charles Thomas “Chuck” Coleman. . , In Memory of , Charles Thomas “Chuck” Coleman , 1963-2024, Chuck Coleman was a highly respected and accomplished pilot and engineer in the aviation industry, with over thirty-five years of experience as an aerospace engineer, ATP pilot, flight instructor, test pilot, airshow performer, and A&P mechanic. His career highlights include serving as a senior design engineer at McDonnell Douglas, where he contributed to military aircraft projects such as the F15, F18, AV8B, YF23, C17, and A12. Chuck also served in key roles at Scaled Composites, BD Jet Corporation, and ICON Aircraft. Coleman tested aircraft like the Proteus jet, BD10 jet, BD12, and the ICON A5 light sport amphibian seaplane. He was the chase/instructor pilot for historic flights, including the Global Flyer, White Knight One, and SpaceShipOne. Throughout his career, Chuck accumulated over 10,400 flight hours in 150 types of aircraft, with commercial ratings in airplanes, helicopters, gliders, and seaplanes. He also built and restored over ten airplanes during his lifetime. , With more than 4,300 hours in the Extra Flugzeugbau 300L series aircraft. Chuck performed in hundreds of air shows across the U.S., logged over 4,300 hours in the Extra Flugzeugbau 300L, and gave over three thousand aerobatic rides. Internationally recognize, Chuck was a test pilot for Burt Rutan’s Proteus, a high-altitude, long-duration aircraft that he flew around the world with co-pilot Michael T. Alsbury., He was an Associate Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), held an Aerospace Engineering degree from the University of Michigan, and was FAA-licensed Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Mechanic with Inspection Authorization (IA)., Coleman was also a part of two Collier Trophy-winning projects, including the development of the McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster (1994) and Scaled Composites’SpaceShipOne (2004). Coleman was also part of the Scaled Composites team that won the Ansari X Prize in 2004., Chuck was a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and provided aerial support for the Peabody Award-winning documentary “Black Sky: The Race for Space”. In 2018, he was the lead aerobatic flight instructor for “Tom Cruises’s School of Flying,” preparing actors for their roles in “Top Gun: Maverick.” He performed 140 training flights with the film actors to enhance their g-force tolerance for filming and flight in F/A-18s during the making of the film., Chuck was also passionate about flight, and STEM education and frequently visited schools and universities to guest lecture about flying and mechanical engineering., Based at the Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field for over 20 years, Chuck was integral to many historic aviation and space ventures. At the time of his passing, he was a member of the Board of Directors for Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field from 2020-2024.