Doug Benjamin

Doug Benjamin grew up in La Crosse WI. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1978. He completed pilot training and became a T-38 Instructor Pilot. He then flew the F-106 and F-16 operationally. He attended EPNER ( French Test Pilot School), and then was assigned to the USAF Test Pilot School as an instructor. He then moved to the F-16 Combined Test Force, testing all F-16 models. After staff and acquisition schools, he served in the Flight Test Division of the F-16 Systems Program Office. He then moved to the black world where he flew on and commanded a variety of classified programs. He was the second of only three pilots to fly the Boeing Bird of Prey technology demonstrator and flew 21 of its 38 flights, including envelope expansion, mission utility and tactical applications. Doug retired from the Air Force in 2000 and became an Engineering Test Pilot with Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, where he has flown on multiple 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 development and certification programs. He is currently the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Pilot for Military Derivatives. He was project pilot for the Airborne Early Warning and Control version of the 737 and is project pilot for the 747-based Airborne Laser. He has nearly 8000 hours flying time in 90 aircraft, FAA type ratings in nine aircraft, and is current on all Boeing models, as well as the T-33 and T-38.