It is with sadness we report the passing of Dr. Ralph Dace Kimberlin, a fearless test pilot and accomplished aerospace engineer who over the last 12 years shared his expertise with faculty and students as he helped Florida Tech develop its flight test engineering program. He was 84.
A designated engineering test pilot for more than a half-century, Dr. Kimberlin flew more than 250 different aircraft over his career. He flew more first flights – 25 – than most people have flown on commercial airlines in their lives.
Dr. Kimberlin was a 1963 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as an Air Force officer. Early test pilot experience came during the Vietnam conflict, where he was one of three officers responsible for evaluating the AC-47 side-firing gunship, including during combat.
But it was a fortuitous mission. In 1964 in Ho Chi Minh City, a friend set up Dr. Kimberlin with a Vietnamese woman named Jean Pham. Accounts suggest it was love at first site for the young American.
After courting during Dr. Kimberlin’s time in Vietnam and then continuing their romance long-distance via love letters, the two married in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in 1965. They remained married for 58 years until Jean Kimberlin’s passing in July 2023.
In 1974, Dr. Kimberlin was named chief of flight and aerodynamics for Piper Aircraft Inc. He would go on to work with Cessna, Beechcraft and Rockwell International over his career.
His schooling continuing, Dr. Kimberlin received a Master of Science in aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Tennessee Space Institute in 1975. Three years later, he was named professor and program chair at UTSI.
He would remain there for 27 years, teaching multiple astronauts over that time including the brothers Scott and Mark Kelly, the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, who is currently on the International Space Station with Florida Tech alumna Sunita Williams.
“After spending 10 years in the industry as a test pilot and having had to exit two test airplanes via ‘nylon letdowns’—also known as parachutes—I decided that academia might be a little less hazardous,” Kimberlin wrote in an essay published this fall in Flying magazine, for which he was a contributor.
Dr. Kimberlin received a Doctor of Engineering in aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the Technical University of Aachen in Germany, in 1991. He had to defend his thesis in German, so he learned the language using CDs and a private tutor when he wasn’t working.
He later wrote a canonical textbook, “Flight Testing of Fixed-Wing Aircraft,” that was published in 2003 as part of the AIAA Education Series.
He departed the University of Tennessee in 2005.
In August 2012, Dr. Kimberlin was hired at Florida Tech as a professor of aeronautics to help establish flight test engineering courses. Over the next 12 years he did just that, and more. He retired in August 2024 but returned in September as a volunteer consultant.
“A dedicated colleague and esteemed professor of aerospace engineering, Ralph’s contributions to both the field and our community have been truly invaluable,” said Hamid Rassoul, chief research officer and senior associate provost for research at Florida Tech.
“Ralph’s passion for the fight test engineering program and commitment to education touched countless lives, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations,” Rassoul continued.
Ratneshwar Jha, a professor of aerospace engineering and head of the department of aerospace, physic and space sciences, worked with Dr. Kimberlin, whom he noted was a 2022 recipient of the Master Pilot Award from the Federal Aviation Administration.
“He was a wonderful person, and it was always a pleasure to interact with him,” Jha said. “Ralph will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Information on funeral arrangements will be shared when available.
