Gone West: Test Pilot J.F. 'Joe' Dobronski | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.20.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.21.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.15.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-05.16.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.17.24

Wed, Sep 09, 2015

Gone West: Test Pilot J.F. 'Joe' Dobronski

Later Became Chief Pilot For 'Wings Of Hope' Humanitarian Organization

Joseph Francis Dobronski Sr., an aviator well known in both the test pilot and humanitarian communities, passed away Saturday in Creve Coeur, MO five days shy of his 88th birthday.

J.F. "Joe" Dobronski entered the Navy's V-5 Aviation Cadet Program just after graduating high school in 1945, and became a Naval Aviator in 1947, according to a biography posted online by the Schrader Funeral Home. In the Navy, he flew in the VA-1L and VX-3 squadrons.

Dobronski graduated from Northrop Aeronautical School in 1951 and worked as a flight test engineer at McDonnell Aircraft In St. Louis. In 1953, he became a production test pilot in the F2H Banshee.

As a 1954 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, he was promoted to experimental test pilot, and later to Chief Test Pilot in 1966. He helped develop such aircraft as the Demon, Voodoo, Phantom II, Eagle, Harrier, and Hornet as well as three jet helicopters.

After retiring in 1984 as the Director of Flight Test and Operations, he became the chief pilot for Wings of Hope, a humanitarian organization that flies medical missions in Central America. He was also a Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

He was also an aerobatic flight instructor, and was recognized as the FAA Central Flight Instructor Of The Year in 2002.

The family has asked the memorial donations be made to Wings of Hope and Birthright St. Louis.

(F-2H Banshee pictured in public domain image)

FMI: www.schrader.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1651873

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.19.24): Back-Taxi

Back-Taxi A term used by air traffic controllers to taxi an aircraft on the runway opposite to the traffic flow. The aircraft may be instructed to back-taxi to the beginning of the>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.19.24)

“Our WAI members across the nation are grateful for the service and sacrifice of the formidable group of WASP who served so honorably during World War II. This group of brave>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.20.24)

“Many aspiring pilots fall short of their goal due to the cost of flight training, so EAA working with the Ray Foundation helps relieve some of the financial pressure and mak>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.20.24): Blind Speed

Blind Speed The rate of departure or closing of a target relative to the radar antenna at which cancellation of the primary radar target by moving target indicator (MTI) circuits i>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.20.24)

Aero Linx: International Airline Medical Association (IAMA) The International Airline Medical Association, formerly known as the Airline Medical Directors Association (AMDA) was fo>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC