Addison Tower
FAA

Addison graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984 with B.S. degrees in Computer Science and Russian. He served 24 years as a bomber and test pilot in the US Air Force, and graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School Class 99B in 2000, and from Air Command and Staff College in 2003. Air Force flight test projects included B-1 Block E avionics upgrade and B-1 Block F fiber optic towed decoy. After a Pentagon tour in International Standardization, Addison returned to USAF TPS as Division Chief for Tech Support and Plans & Programs and a C-12 Instructor Test Pilot. After retirement in 2012 and a short stint as a corporate pilot, Addison joined the FAA in 2015 as a Flight Test Pilot in the Chicago Aircraft Certification Office. There he was heavily involved in certification projects with Cirrus Aircraft, including the SF50 Vision Jet, the SR10, and Emergency Autoland in the SF50. He has also participated in the certification flight test of hot air balloons. Addison served on the Technical Advisory Board for the Boeing 737 MAX in 2019 following the two fatal accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia. In 2021, Addison took on the role of Flight Test Program Flight Safety Officer, managing the Safety Management System for the Flight Test and Human Factors Branch, and advocating for the safety of 65 FAA Aircraft Certification Flight Testers flying experimental aircraft around the globe. He presented at the 2024 and 2025 Flight Test Safety Workshops.