Balkans35 Benefactor: Lieutenant Colonel (Ret'd) Billie Flynn, MSc MBA CD

Billie Flynn is recognized as a leading 5^th Generation test pilot and aviation expert globally. His expertise in advanced and emerging technologies in aviation, future fighter aircraft, combat leadership, and global defense matters is both proven and unmatched. He presently serves as the Chief Technical Officer for the International Test Pilots School, based in London, Ontario. He is also the Chief Technical Officer for the AI program known as 5th Gen Cognitive Transformation.

Billie retired in 2020 from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company as the F-35 Senior Test Pilot. He was instrumental in the development the F-35 Lightning II program representing the largest defense program in history and continues as the global spokesman of the 5th Generation fighter aircraft. Billie was instrumental in securing the F-35 as the cornerstone of NATO air forces for the next 40 years.

He has been honored with the highest accolade in aviation, the 2018 Collier Trophy, awarded by the US National Aeronautic Association for his team's development of the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System. This technology has successfully saved the lives of over 20 pilots since its implementation.

He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for 23 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He flew the CF-18 Hornet operationally in Canada, Germany, and Italy. He was the first pilot selected to fly the CF-18, which he flew in 1984. From1990-94, as the Canadian Air Force exchange test pilot, he tested the F-16fighter for the United States Air Force (USAF) at the famed test site at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During that period, he conducted research with the USAF and NASA on thrust vectoring aircraft including the F-16Multi-Axis Thrust Vectoring (MATV) and NASA’s F-18 Hi Alpha Research Vehicle(HARV).

In 1997, Lieutenant Colonel Flynn took command of Canada’s most decorated fighter unit,441 Tactical Fighter Squadron, in Cold Lake, Alberta. Under his leadership, the Canadian Task Force participated in NATO’s Operation Allied Force, conducting nearly 700 combat missions over Kosovo and the former Republic of Yugoslavia. His command prevented the attempted genocide of the Kosovar Albanian minority. Notably, Canadian fighter pilots, who made up only 2% of the overall NATO force, flew 10% of all combat missions and commanded more than 50% of the missions they undertook. Lieutenant Colonel Flynn personally flew 25 combat missions and led numerous large attack formations. Following the cessation of combat operations, his unit received Battle Honours from Queen Elizabeth II, the first such distinction for a Canadian fighting unit since World War II.

Following his command tour, Billie retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and became a lead test pilot for the Eurofighter Typhoon program based in Munich, Germany, working as part of a four-nation consortium developing the new fighter program. In 2003, he returned to North America as a test pilot for Lockheed Martin, initially testing the advanced F-16 E/F Super Viper. He joined the F-35 program in 2010 and was stationed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, where he tested the F-35 B and C variants. Billie designed and flew the first airshow demonstration of the Lightning II, performed at the 2017 Paris Air Show. He retired from Lockheed Martin in 2020, returning to his homeland, Canada.

Billie is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) and served as SETP President from 2010-2011. He is also a Fellow Emeritus of Lockheed Martin. He has accumulated over 5000 flight hours in more than 80 different aircraft during his 40+ years of flying. Billie holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Royal Military College of Canada and is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School as an Experimental Test Pilot. He also possesses 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, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Ottawa.

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