purdue university

Two 2019 Air Force Academy graduates were the first in the school’s history to be selected for a then-new program that put STEM majors without pilot training experience on a path to attend Air Force Test Pilot School so they can then conduct vital flight testing and data generation on a variety of aircraft as flight test engineers.

First Lieutenants Abraham Eaton and Maria Carter completed STEM-focused graduate programs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Purdue and are currently at Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The officers gained operational experience in multiple test squadrons before beginning a 48-week program where they are flying anything from World War II relics to F-16s.

Both officers were encouraged to consider the program as cadets by Col. Brian Neff, the academy’s electrical and computer engineering department head who is also a graduate of the Test Pilot School. Neff pioneered the streamlined candidacy effort, with faculty and department heads mentoring and preparing top STEM majors.

“A great test pilot candidate is someone who can make decisions rapidly, often without much information or time to prepare,” Neff said in a press release. “They’re agile thinkers, able to dissect large problems into manageable parts very quickly and efficiently. They are calm and collected expert risk managers. The robust engineering programs, faculty accessibility, and small class sizes make the academy a fitting undergraduate experience for Test Pilot School candidates.”

Eaton remembers getting motion sickness on playgrounds as a child but never let that keep him from his lifelong goal of flying. While at the academy, Eaton learned he was colorblind, which disqualified him for the pilot career field. But his exceptional academic record and operations research and applied mathematics double major opened many doors. He earned a masters degree in business analytics from MIT.

Carter loved math and science as a child and decided in seventh grade that she wanted to be an engineer and be a role model to young girls. The astronautical engineering major at the academy then earned a masters degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering at Purdue. Though her goal was never to be a pilot, she was drawn to the program because of her passion for space and engineering.

Both advanced degrees were fully funded through the academy’s graduate scholarship program.

The Test Pilot School was established Sept. 9, 1944, and is deemed “the center of the aerospace testing universe.” A total of 101 Test Pilot School graduates have gone on to become NASA astronauts.

“Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be either a pilot or a navigator to attend this type of flight training. Flight test engineers like Eaton are equally critical to conducting vital testing and data generation, shaping future technology while also saving lives and millions of dollars in resources,” according to the Air Force Academy.

Following the success of the program’s first candidates, 2020 academy graduate’s 2nd Lt. Noah Diamond and 2nd Lt. Gordon McCulloh are the next two former cadets heading to the Test Pilot School.