Page 5 - Women's History Month 2021 - Combined Special Edition of Aerotech News and Review Nellis AFB Creech AFB Desert Lightning News

Donna Knighton – An aerospace woman

board flight test engineer time in an array of
by Cathy Hansen
special to Aerotech News military aircraft, including the F-4, T-37, T-38,
C-130, C-141 and C-5. Her favorite chase mis-
Pilot Donna Knighton is a CFI/CFII with sions were in F-4s! She was a mission controller
2,000 hours of safe flight time, and holds experi- for the X-29 program, and a performance and
mental aircraft authorizations in the L-29 Delfin flying qualities flight test engineer on many test
jet and the Jet Provost. Donna has a BME degree programs. Donna retired in 2014 after 32 years
from the University of Dayton. of faithful service.
She worked as an aerospace/flight test en- Donna also has a background in teaching flight
gineer for 32 years at the 4950th Test Wing at safety, crew resource management, and systems
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; Lock- safety, and served as a private and instrument
heed Georgia; NASA Dryden (now Armstrong) flight instructor and flight safety officer for
Flight Research Center, and the 412th Test Wing the Edwards Aero Club for many years. She is
at Edwards AFB. Calif. She has extensive on- currently an FAA Safety Team (FAAST) repre-

Courtesy photographs
sentative and hopes to resume teaching safety warbirds. Donna and her husband, Bob Stam-
seminars soon after the lockdown ends! One of bovsky (CFII/ATP), share their love of flying.
her favorite memories as a female pilot while at Their favorite activities over the past decades
the Edwards Aero Club was flying the C-182RG together have been participating in air shows all
with her mother, Olga Knighton, on a two-week over California and the West with static displays,
odyssey across the country to the Smoky Moun- and also working as flight line coordinators at
tains and back for her mother’s 70th birthday. the Miramar Airshow. They previously owned
After obtaining her private pilot and ground
instructor certificates in the early 1990s, Donna and flew a Jet Provost, and currently own a
taught the private pilot ground school at the Ed- 1976 Piper Lance, which is undergoing a major
wards Aero Club, and went on to obtain her com- avionics upgrade at the great High Desert Avi-
mercial, instrument, and flight instructing ratings onics in Lancaster. Looking forward to learn-
there. She became involved in the jet warbird ing our new digital systems and having more
community in 2009, and checked out in two jet flying adventures!

WE’RE ALL IN

THIS TOGETHER.

At Kaiser Permanente, we don’t see
health as an industry. We see it as a
cause. And one that we very much
believe in. During this extraordinary
time we are especially thankful to the
heroism of our frontline workers. And,
we would like to express our deepest
gratitude to all of our outstanding care
teams and individuals who deliver on
the Kaiser Permanente mission each
day to improve the health of our
members and the communities we
serve. We are here to help you thrive.
Learn more at kp.org.

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