Pilot
Mike Bradfield
Senior Flight Test Pilot
Textron Aviation
Connect on LinkedInEducation:
Wichita State University
Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering, with a minor in Mathematics
Master of Science, Engineering Management
Born and raised in the “Air Capital of the World,” seeing airplanes in the sky was a normal occurrence for Mike Bradfield. A love of math and troubleshooting led him to an Aerospace Engineering degree. Cooperative internships with local manufacturers introduced Bradfield to the vast world of business aviation and its people, and he accepted a job as a flight test engineer with Cessna. He was impressed by how test pilots manage the risk and stress of precisely flying experimental aircraft, and now he is a flight test pilot at Textron Aviation, home of Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft.
“Whether it’s tower fly-bys at 70 feet and 350 knots, full aerodynamic stalls at 45,000 feet or anything in between, every day is a new challenge,” Bradfield said. “It takes a highly motivated group of people to take an airplane from the drawing board to the air, and I couldn’t be more excited to see what new technologies and innovations the business aviation industry continues to dream up.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.