MEET OUR EXPERTS
PROFOUND TECHNICAL EXPERTISE & EXPERIENCE
Propulsion Technology Advisor
Arnie Gunderson
Arnie worked 33 years for Pratt & Whitney in ever increasingly responsible positions, starting as a test engineer and completing as a Program Manager. He worked extensively on the J58 Engine Program, and had key roles in F100-PW-220/229 Production and Support, Space Shuttle Alternate Turbo-pump, C-17 Flight Test, and Foreign Military Sales. He is experienced in Overhaul and Repair operations, Flight Test, Complex Support Equipment including Test Stands, Integrated Logistic Support, and Program Management. Following his retirement from P&W, he worked for Atec, Inc. in the Houston, TX area building, selling, and supporting innovative jet engine test stands. Arnie went on to work for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Huntsville, AL as a Subject Matter Expert in Test Engineering of Target Missiles for the Missile Defense Agency.
Flight Testing & Evaluation Expert Advisor
Jim Payne
Jim is a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with tactical fighter and flight test experience. He flew two tours in the F-4 Phantom, was an F-5E Aggressor pilot, was an Air Force test pilot for the F-16XL, taught at the USAF Test Pilot School, and was Deputy Commander for Operations at Edwards AFB. After retiring, Jim managed Global Hawk flight test at Edwards. He has made first flights in three aircraft. Jim has a BS in General Engineering from the US Air Force Academy, and a Masters of Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Flight Testing & Evaluation Expert Advisor
Scotty Marshall
Scotty is a retired US Air Force Command Pilot and served as a Senior DoD and USAF Acquisition Officer for 27 years. He has an Air Transport Pilot FAA certificate with Boeing 707/720 heavy type ratings, and over 5300 flight hours. Scotty has extensive Flight Test and Department of Defense Systems Acquisition process experience to include development of major program Test & Evaluation Master Plans. He worked for Booz Allen Hamilton for 8 years as a T&E consultant for multiple DoD aircraft, space, software, and wheeled vehicle programs. He is currently a part-time flight instructor at the National Test Pilot School in Mojave, CA and has been working in that capacity for the past 8 years.
Aviation Support Expert Advisor
Chris Koelzer
Chris is a 28-year Marine Corps officer and F/A-18 pilot, deploying twice aboard a Navy carrier to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf, serving in Operations, Training, and Maintenance roles. He next served as an F/A-18 instructor with VMFAT-101 at MCAS Miramar, then left active duty and joined Marine Reserve F/A-18 squadron VMFA-112 in Texas, while working at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Program, developing tactical doctrine and conducting air combat simulation events. Chris left Lockheed to work as a flight simulator consultant for L3 Communications, and fighter aviation consultant for several companies, prior to founding Lone Star Vipers LLC in 2007 in support of F-16 sustainment. In addition to Lone Star Vipers, Chris co-founded Victory Aviation Company in 2016, providing FAA-approved training with Marchetti S-211 jets, as well as R&D in tactical air refueling and pilot-optional automation systems for single-engine turboprop aircraft.
Flight Testing & Safety Expert Advisor
Rogers Smith
Rogers serves as a MARS Engines advisor in the general areas of Flight Test and Safety, and is also active as an international lecturer on the separate but related topics of Leadership and Safety in both the aerospace and medical worlds. He is the author of over 30 technical papers and was co-creator of the Neal-Smith fighter control system design criterion. Since 2009, he has worked with various contractors as an Advisor for Flight Test and for Safety, as well as an active Test Pilot for development testing of the USAF Reaper UAV aircraft. During this time, he also served as Site Manager for a staff of 20 aircrew members. During his career as a test pilot, engineer and technical leader, Rogers held positions with the National Research Council of Canada (4 years), NASA Langley Research Center (1 year), Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory/ Calspan (12 years), and became a research test pilot at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. At Dryden (18 years) he participated in a wide variety of test programs, involving, for example, the X-29, AFTI F-16 and F-111, X-31, F-15 ACTIVE, F-18 and SR-71 aircraft. After a distinguished career at Dryden (19 years), where he also served as Chief Pilot and Acting Director of Flight Operations, he retired in 2000 and pursued a career in consulting. He was then engaged with EADS in Germany (4 years), first as an advisor on the Eurofighter flight control system development and then as a Vice President and Director of Flight Test at the EADS Military Aircraft Division. Following this period, he worked at the National Test Pilot School in Mojave, CA as a Test Pilot Flight Instructor (5 years). He is a Fellow and past President of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.Rogers received a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Engineering Physics and a Master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering, both from the University of Toronto with Honors. He served as a fighter pilot with both the Royal Canadian Air Force and the United States Air National Guard (24 years), where he also held senior leadership positions.
Supersonic Flight Operations Advisor & Lead Storyteller
John Hutchinson
John joined the Royal Air Force in 1955 and spent eight years in the service, flying the Avro Shackleton in Singapore and then as a Flying Instructor and Examiner on the Jet Provost. This was followed by three years in corporate aviation flying a variety of light single and twin engined aircraft.
He joined British Airways in 1966 as a co-pilot on the Boeing 707 and then went on to the Boeing 747. He gained his command on the VC10 in 1976. He joined the Concorde fleet in 1977 where he spent the next 15 years until retirement. During that time he became a Concorde Route Check Captain and a British Airways pilot selector as well as working for BBC television as a Presenter of Airshow programmes.
Since his retirement in 1992, he has worked as a consultant to the United States High Speed Research Programme. In December 2022 he was appointed as an advisor to MARS Engines to help with development of an effective power plant for future generation hypersonic vehicles.
He is a Past Master of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots and is a Fellow of both the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Royal Institute of Navigation.
He has flown over 70 different aircraft types and kept his hand in flying his Auster Aiglet until 2020.