John Rudzis

Mr. Rudzis is a distinguished aviator with an exceptional career spanning operational flying and flight testing in military and commercial aviation.

A former U.S. Marine Corps Aviator and Commercial Airline Captain, Mr. Rudzis' credentials include graduating from the prestigious U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) with Class 91 in June 1987, and subsequently serving as a USNTPS flight test instructor pilot from 1989 through 1990. Mr. Rudzis' extensive flight test experience includes serving as a military test pilot on all models of H-53 helicopters from 1987 to 1989 and as the Government Flight Test Director (GFTD) on the MV-22B Osprey Integrated Test Team (ITT) during the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) flight test phase of the V-22 Development Program from 1996 through 1999. Upon retiring from active military service, he joined Delta Air Lines in 2000 as a commercial airline pilot, flying domestic U.S. and international routes until 2021, in Boeing, McDonnel Douglas, and Airbus airplanes. In 2007, he also served as a Senior Flight Test Specialist for Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., flying developmental flight test for the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter Integrated Test Team at Patuxent River, Maryland.

Mr. Rudzis has over 12,000 flight hours logged across more than 25 type, model, and series of aircraft, encompassing helicopters, tiltrotors, and fixed-wing airplanes, Mr. Rudzis holds an FAA Airline Transport Pilot rating for multi engine fixed wing airplanes, commercial ratings for fixed wing airplanes and rotorcraft, and type ratings for the B-737, B-757, B-767, DC-9 and BD-500 airplanes. He has been a proud member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) since 1989.

Academic Achievements and Consulting

In addition to his extensive aviation career, Mr. Rudzis is an accomplished academic and aviation consultant. Between 2000 and 2024, he was employed by ARINC Engineering Services, Inc. and Coherent Technical Services, Inc., supporting aviation systems development projects for the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland. He holds a B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, an M.S. in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee, and an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Rudzis presented a paper to the Society during the Annual SETP Symposium in September 2000, titled "Unique Tiltrotor Handling Characteristics Encountered during MV22 Sea Trials Tests”. He proudly serves on the board of the Flight Test Safety Committee.