Joseph J. Tymczyszyn | |
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Tymczyszyn in 1986
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Full name | Joseph John "Tym" Tymczyszyn |
Born |
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
August 12, 1918
Died | February 19, 1999 Rancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S. |
(aged 80)
Nationality | United States |
Aviation career | |
Known for | Test Pilot on America's First Commercial Jet Aircraft, the Boeing 707 |
Battles | World War II |
Rank | United States Army Air Forces |
Joseph John "Tym" Tymczyszyn (August 12, 1918 – February 19, 1999) was an American World War II pilot, and test pilot for the United States Army Air Corps and the Federal Aviation Administration.
He was born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania in 1918, the second son of Polish immigrants Anna and Tadeusz Tymczyszyn who lived and worked in the coal mines near his home in eastern Pennsylvania.
Tymczyszyn became an instructor for the Civilian Pilot Training Corps, teaching college students to fly in anticipation of war. He served as an instructor pilot and engineering pilot in the Pacific during World War II, flying the North American P-51 Mustang and Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
After the war, he settled in Kirkland, Washington and attended the University of Washington, Tymczyszyn received his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1948.
After graduation, Tymczyszyn joined the Civil Aeronautics Authority (Precursor to the Federal Aviation Administration) and attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. The major milestones of his flight test achievements resulted from flights at Edwards Air Force Base. He flight tested the Boeing 707, Boeing 747, the Douglas DC-6 through 10, the Convair 340 through 990, all Lockheed Constellation models, and the Electra. He tested hundreds of general aviation aircraft, and certified the popular Robinson R22 helicopter.