Col. Evan “Ivan” Thomas is the Director of Flight Operations for Stratolaunch, LLC. He is responsible for safe and effective flight test and operational use of the Stratolaunch carrier aircraft and other company aircraft, and ensuring readiness and compliance for all flight crew.
Evan was raised in Southern California, and pursued his dream of flying by attending the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Astronautical Engineering. After earning his Air Force pilot wings, Evan completed two operational tours flying the F-16, including leading 52 combat missions over Iraq and occupied Kuwait, highlighted by the rescue of an encircled Special Forces team. In 1994 he was a pilot on the Overall Top Team at the USAF ‘William Tell’ Air-to-Air Weapons Meet. Evan was competitively selected to attend the Empire Test Pilots’ School in the United Kingdom, where he flew a wide variety of aircraft and qualified as an Experimental Test Pilot. From there, Evan returned to the F-16 as a Test Pilot at the F-16 Combined Test Force, Edwards AFB, California, and in his off-duty time earned a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University Fresno. In 2003, Evan took command of the 411th Flight Test Squadron, charged with completing the intensive developmental flight test program on the F-22 Raptor. Evan led the squadron, and later the entire F-22 Combined Test Force, through it’s highest testing pace to meet the Raptor’s initial combat-ready requirement. Evan was selected to attend the National War College, where he earned a Masters degree in National Security Strategy. He served as the Director of Operations for the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Italy prior to his final Air Force assignment as the Vice Wing Commander for the 46th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida. In December 2010, Evan retired from active duty in the rank of Colonel.
Following retirement from the USAF, Evan returned to California and took a position as an Instructor Test Pilot with Calspan Corporation, where he flew the variable-stability VISTA F-16 and VSS Learjet as a handling qualities flight and academic instructor at the USAF Test Pilot School. In this role, Evan led initial flight tests involving advanced flight control algorithms, autonomous formation and mission systems, and automatic collision avoidance systems. He was twice awarded the David Barnes Award as the top flight instructor at the USAF Test Pilot School. In 2018, Evan transitioned to Scaled Composites, LLC, as Test Pilot, and then Project Pilot for the Model 351 Stratolaunch aircraft. Evan was Pilot in Command for the historic Stratolaunch first flight in April 2019. He was the recipient of the 2019 Iven C. Kincheloe Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and also shared the 2019 Ray Tenhoff Award with the Stratolaunch first flight crew. “Ivan” has over 5,300 hours on 30+ aircraft types, including over 3,500 hours in the F-16.
Evan has shared his career with his high school sweetheart, Natalie. Natalie and Evan married in 1987, and she held down the home front through 12 family moves, including three overseas tours. Their first son was born while Evan was airborne on a combat mission over Iraq, and their second son is currently serving in the USAF. They live in Lancaster, California, and have four grandchildren.