SWAS Co-Chair Lt. Gen. Charles “CR” Davis (ret.) invites you to SWAS!
CR is an active experimental test pilot with L3Harris with 250+ test hours in–AT-802 and OA-1K Skyraider. Conducting envelop expansion, engine airstarts, handling qualities and mission systems testing as L3Harris converts AT-802 into USAF’s OA-1K. Retired in 2014 as Military Deputy to Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition;) responsible for R&D, test, production, and modernization programs. Commanded Electronic Systems Center—was Program Executive for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks at Hanscom AFB, responsible for JSTARS, AWACS, and other classified aviation programs. Commanded Air Armament Center and Air Force Development Test Center Eglin AFB. Active F-16 Test Pilot—Program Executive Officer for Weapons. Directed development/test of weapons including variants of the AMRAAM missile, Small Diameter Bomb II, Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile and first variant of Massive Ordinance Penetrator. Held key program management positions: Director F-15 Development and Acquisition; T-6A Texan II System Program Director; F-15 System Program Director; and F-35 JSF Program Executive Officer. Oversaw development and first flights of F-35A/B. Commanded 412th Test Wing Edwards AFB. Commanded the 410th Flight Test Squadron, F/YF-117A Combined Test Force. Distinguished Grad USAF TPS Class 87B; Distinguished Grad, BS Chemistry USAFA; MS Mechanical Eng, California State Univ Fresno.
Meet the SWAS Judges
Who will win the Best Technical Presentation Award?
Technical presentations will be judged on Significance, Innovation, Methodology, Accuracy/ Metrics, Lessons Learned, Delivery, Structure, Legibility and Timeliness (25 min. or less). Read the judge’s (and presenter’s) bios in the Luft Orgs App under SWAS Staff.
Angela Buccio
Bell, VFS, AIAA North Texas Advisory Board 
Mike Fox (Chief Judge)
NASA/Lockheed Martin Fellow (Ret)
AIAA North Texas Vice Chair, Associate Fellow
Paul Park
UTA, General Dynamics/ Lockheed Martin (Ret), AIAA Fellow 
Art Sheridan
General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin (Ret)
|AIAA North Texas Advisory Board, Associate Fellow
Rick Simmons (AF)
AFTC, AIAA, VFS, SFTE, SETP
Follow SWAS on our own Luft Org App!
Get bios, abstracts, parking, attendee list, schedule updates, speaker Q&A, & more!
Luft Org
AIAA North Texas-developed App
Free & Available in the Apple App store
Southwest Aerospace Symposium (SWAS)
Saturday, 28 March 2026
|UT Arlington
SEIR Engineering Bldg., Room 294
0800-1700 hrs.
College Students
Network with Aerospace Professionals
Meet industry-leading engineers and test pilots working on the cutting edge of current & future rotorcraft, aircraft, and spacecraft. Find out about intern opportunities and start networking.
High School Students
Meet and talk with UTA & UTD Engineering students|
UTA & UTD will present on their programs & have display tables with rockets, drones, and airplanes. Chat with their teams about studying engineering and competing on a rocket, drone, or DBF (Design Build Fly) team or any number of other projects, as well as what it is like to study engineering at some of our great local universities.
Late REGISTRATION cutoff 23 March at 9am CDT!
Keynote
NASA Astronaut Bob “Farmer” Hines (Colonel, U.S. Air Force)
“NASA’s 21st Century Challenge: Testing for Human Spaceflight”
Bob Hines was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported to the Astronaut Office in August 2017. He has served more than 23 years in the United State Air Force (USAF) as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and a test pilot. Before his selection in 2017, he was serving as a Research Pilot at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He has accumulated more than 4,000 hours of flight time in 50 different types of aircraft and has flown 76 combat missions in 3 different aircraft types while supporting contingency operations around the world. Hines served as the pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, which concluded on Oct. 14, 2022. The mission was the first spaceflight for Hines. He has logged 170 days in space, overseeing the arrival of crew and cargo, maintaining the space station, and conducting science experiments of various disciplines.
Schedule
0800 - Check in, Coffee & Refreshments
Session I
Chair - Kelly Latimer (F), USAF/NASA/VG Retired, SETP President
0830 - X-76 Predecessor: Full Scale Stop-fold System Transition Demo on a High-Speed Test Track, Dr. Troy Schank, Bell
0900 - Air Tractor 1002, Jim Acree (AF), Lead Test Pilot Air Tractor 1002
0930 - UT Dallas AIAA Project Teams, Mi Vo & Mikail Naqib, UTD AIAA Student Chapter President & VP
0945 - Coffee Break
1015 - Findings from FAA-sponsored flight tests of Handling Qualities Task Elements for VTOL Aircraft, Marty Shubert (F), Tiltrotor Flight Test Consulting
1045 – High-Altitude Airport Operations (HAAO) Testing Lessons Learned, Brian Nyaberim, Bombardier, UTA BSAE
1115 - Before Lindbergh - Earlier Atlantic crossings, Paul Park, UTA, General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin (Ret), AIAA Fellow
1145 - CIRP: Mental Health Support for Flight Testers, James Sergeant F AIAA/SFTE
1200 - Luncheon & Keynote
|NASA Astronaut Bob “Farmer” Hines (Colonel, U.S. Air Force)
“NASA’s 21st Century Challenge: Testing for Human Spaceflight”
Session II
Chair - Ryan Blake (AF), Lockheed Martin
1330 - The Promise of STOL: Upper Surface Blowing Lessons Learned, Erasmo Pinero, Bell / Lockheed Martin (Ret.)
1400 - Initial MV-75 Handling Qualities Evaluation in Vertical Motion Simulator, Alekxander McGuinness (M) & Jackson Murphy, Bell
1430 - UT Arlington AIAA & Aero Mavs
Lincoln Gammage, UTA AIAA Student Chapter President
Mauricio Nava, Karthik Nuti, Whitney Kamena, Ryan Northrup, Jacob Ruiz Perez, UTA Aero Mavs
1445 - Coffee Break
1515 - Aerodynamics Research in North Texas at the Dawn of CFD, Dr. Dennis Finley, Lockheed Martin (retired), AIAA North Texas Advisory Board
1545 - Strategies for Integrating Complex Aircraft Software Systems: Insights from Software Engineers at Lockheed Martin, Jennifer Klenka & Stephanie Figueroa, Lockheed Martin
1615 - Risky Business: These are the Risks you are Looking For, David Hoey SM 586th Flight Test Squadron, NM
1645 - 2026 SFTE International Symposium Introduction, Bob Brock SM , SFTE North Texas
1655 - Closing Remarks & Presentation of Best Paper Award
1800 - No-Host Social at TIPSY OAK, 301 East Front St, Arlington TX 76011
