Ralph Kimberlin, Ph.D., respected experimental test pilot, engineer, and graduate professor, passed away on Nov. 28, 2024. He was 84.

Ralph spent 27 years in Tullahoma beginning in 1978 when he moved to the area with his family to work at UTSI. He was an active member of Highland Baptist Church.

Ralph was born on Jan. 6, 1940, in Sullivan, MO, to Hazel Marie (Dace) and Clyde Eugene Kimberlin. He was fascinated with flying as a child and that led to a lifelong career in aviation.

In 1963, he graduated from the US Naval Academy and was commissioned in the US Air Force.

During his first assignment, Ralph traveled to Vietnam to participate in the combat evaluation of the AC-47 gunship. While in Vietnam, he met and eventually married his wife of 58 years, Jean Pham. Ralph completed his active duty and continued serving in the US Air Force Reserves, retiring in 2000 as a colonel.

For over a decade into his civilian career, Ralph worked as an experimental test pilot and aerospace engineer for historic aviation manufacturers such as Rockwelll, Beech, Cessna, and Piper. The dangers of test piloting combined with concerns for his family led him to pursue a teaching career, achieving an M.S. in aerospace engineering from UTSI, and then a Ph.D. from the Technical University of Aachen, Germany in 1991.

Dr. Kimberlin served as professor and program chair for his graduate program in Aviation Systems at UTSI for 27 years. He was most proud of his students, and 13 went on to become astronauts, including Scott Kelly, Chris Hadfield, and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, who is due to return to Earth from the Space Shuttle in February 2025.

Dr. Kimberlin published his seminal book, Flight Testing of Fixed-Wing Aircraft, in 2003 with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. This textbook provides a fundamental baseline for aircraft flight testing and an educational text for students and professionals. In addition to its worldwide distribution, his book was published in Chinese in 2010.

Most recently, Dr. Kimberlin developed a Master’s degree program in Flight Test Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, where he served as full professor and test pilot instructor. In his lifetime as an FAA designated test pilot and flight analyst, he logged 9,300 flight test hours, in over 250 different aircraft types, and he pioneered 25 “first flights.” He was honored as a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 2014.

At 84, Ralph had an active lifestyle still flying his aircraft, mentoring his students, and supporting his friends and colleagues. He championed his alma mater, the US Naval Academy, and he treasured opportunities to gather with his classmates for Navy football games and reunions. He also voraciously consumed news on current events and politics, and he loved to ride his bicycle daily. After all, staying fit was how he continued to pass his annual flying physicals! Ralph was at work on a second edition of his flight testing book, and a dozen chapters into writing his memoir about his flying career.

Outside of his test piloting, or perhaps because of it, Ralph was a sage counselor to his children across work and personal matters. His intellect, intuition, and understanding of people and human behavior will be terribly missed.

Ralph was predeceased by his wife, Jean, and is survived by his son Charles (Hadley), daughter Lisa, and three grandchildren, Jenna, Thomas, and Marissa.

Memorial services will be held near his home in Lakeland, Florida, at Beacon Hill Fellowship, 220 W. Beacon Rd, Lakeland, FL 33803, on March 8, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. An additional service for those in the DC area will be held at the Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Maryland, on Feb. 6, 2025, at 10:30 a.m.

Tullahoma News – Feb. 2, 2025