Awarded to a test pilot who has made an outstanding contribution in advancing the art and science of aviation.
Flight Lieutenant Aaron How has emerged as the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) premier junior Flight Tester during his past year at the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU). His tenacious work ethic, strong airborne aptitude, objective judgement, high proficiency with test processes, ability to lead and mentor junior members and strategic organisational outlook are all of the highest standard.
Aaron can be relied upon for timely, accurate and objective judgement, flying performance and technical analysis. He has become a senior leader and mentor at ARDU. Aaron often volunteers for difficult or inconvenient tasks and maintains an exceptional flying rate of effort and throughput of flight test tasks. He concurrently maintains a B Category on the FA-18F, C Categories on Hawk-127 and PC-21 categories, as well as his Qualified Test Pilot category.
Aaron has skilfully led and/or flown a substantial number of disparate tasks including scoping for international innovative weapons programs, highly complex integrated test events in large joint exercises for networked Long-Range Strike Weapons, technical tuning of flight model of the PC-21 simulator to allow its use for training ab initio pilots, and novel air-to-air refuelling clearances. He provides routine assessment of new Number 82 Wing (F/A-18F and E/A-18G) capabilities and is relentless in ensuring the Squadron maintains its core flying and flight test capabilities such as Flight Test Aircrew selection and development of other aircrew at ARDU. On one occasion he was the Test Pilot on two concurrent PC-21 test programs, seamlessly switching between them despite having flights on the same day. Throughout, Aaron provided briefs to the large test team, reliable results, and detected anomalies in test data and proactively solved several problems allowing the team to achieve its test objectives and improving PC-21 capability for runway performance and datalink trail procedures. Aaron showed his adaptability this year becoming involved in capability development of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat. After providing Flight Test chase for MQ-28A flight trials at Woomera, Aaron was heavily involved in ongoing development of the platform through operational and flight test inputs to “sprint design sessions” with Boeing Defence Australia, as well as several other MQ-28 related trials.
In addition to performing the duties expected of most squadron pilots, Aaron must be across airworthiness regulations, flight test processes and analysis of highly technical test data, operational procedures and tactics for multiple platforms and maintenance of relationships with customers.
For consistently demonstrating the finest qualities expected of Flight Test Aircrew and RAAF pilots and significantly contributing to the capability development of a broad range of RAAF airborne systems including experimental Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), experimental weapons and several in-service simulators and aircraft, Flt Lt Aaron How is awarded the Derry and Richards Memorial Medal.
1953 Wg Cdr J H Heyworth
1953/54 Wg Cdr R Beamont
1954/55 L P Twiss Esq
1955/56 Sqn Ldr J S Fifield
1956/57 M Randrup Esq
1957/58 T W Brook-Smith Esq
1959/60 A W Bedford Esq
1960/61 M J Lithgow Esq
1961/62 E B Trubshaw Esq
1962/63 H C H Merewether Esq
1963/64 P Bugge Esq
1964/65 E B Trubshaw Esq
1965/66 J Cunningham Esq
1966/67 H Cliff Rogers Esq DFC
1967/68 D G Taylor Esq
1968/69 J L Dell Esq
1969/70 T P Frost Esq
1970/71 W Gellatley Esq
1971/72 Duncan Simpson Esq
1972/73 J Cochrane Esq
1973/74 W P I Fillingham Esq
1975 not awarded
1975/76 Gilbert Defer Esq
1976/77 T M S Ferguson Esq
1978 not awarded
1978/79 Paul Millett Esq
1979/80 John F Farley Esq
1980/81 David Eagles Esq
1982 not awarded
1982/83 H R Radford Esq
1983/84 ChristopherYeo Esq
1984/85 Jeremy Lee Esq AFC
1985/86 Roy Moxham Esq
1986/87 J A Robinson Esq
1987/88 H E Frick Esq
1988/89 Angus M McVitie Esq
1989/90 K P Orme Esq
1991 not awarded
1991/92 P A Sedgwick Esq
1992/93 C F Roberts Esq
1993/94 C W Hague Esq
1995 not awarded
1995/96 D L J Thomas Esq
1996/97 Graham Tomlinson Esq
1997/98 Jeremy P Tracy Esq
1998/99 Sqn Ldr David R Southwood BSc AFC RAF
1999/2000 Keith Hartley
2000/01 Derek Reeh
2001/02 Simon Hargreaves
2002/03 Gordon G (Jock) Reid FRAeS
2003/04 Paul Hopkins
2004/05 John Turner
2006 not awarded
2006/07 Graham M Archer
2007/08 Peter Lawrence Chandler
2008/09 Iain Young MBE BSc FRAeS
2009/10 Graham Tomlinson
2010/11 Edward (Ed) Strongman
2011/12 Andrew Warner MA(Oxon) MRAeS
2012/13 Peter Wilson
2013/14 Mark Bowman
2015 not awarded
2016 Lt Cdr Robert Dowdell RNR
2017 Andrew Strachan
2018 Frank Chapman
2019 - 2020 not awarded
2021 Kelly Latimer
2022 Phillip O'Dell
2023 Flight Lieutenant Aaron How RAAF
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