John Croll

John was born in Montreal in 1948 to parents Bruce and Winnifred Croll. He graduated in engineering physics from RMC with the Governor General’s gold medal. After pilot training, he was posted for one year to Canada’s Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment at CFB Cold Lake. There, in addition to the odd salmon run to Portuguese Joe’s on Vancouver Island, he conducted cold weather trials of the Bell 212 helicopter as a project engineer.  He also flew a modified T-33 with the Alberta Hail Stop project, releasing silver iodide flares into storm clouds to suppress hailstorms between Red Deer and Calgary.

From AETE, John commenced fighter pilot training on the CF-5, followed by the CF-104. He took quickly to high-speed flying and on his seventh transition flight successfully flew the ‘104 to Mach 2.0. John was well on his way to a European posting when disaster struck.  During a simulated attack flight in May 1973, he hit a tree at low level and ejected at high speed. John spent the next 2-3 weeks recovering; the head trauma he sustained led to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease 27 years later. Determined to keep flying, he climbed into the CF-104 a month later and then proceeded on his tour in Germany as part of Canada’s Cold War commitment to NATO.

It was in Germany that John and his wife, Ann, welcomed the first of their three daughters (Sarah was born in Germany and her younger sisters Amelia and Andrea were both born in the United States). For two and a half years, John flew low-level missions (avoiding trees) over Europe with 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron. He qualified as a combat-ready fighter pilot and formation lead and was a graduate of the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, the Canadian equivalent to the US Navy’s Top Gun.

John attended the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California in 1976. After completing the year-long flying and advanced aerodynamics course, he recalled “I don’t believe I ever again sang the praises of any aircraft without also throwing in some of its bad points, even the CF-104!” His performance was exemplary. So was his competitive spirit. John was the first non-American to top his class, receiving the Liethen-Tittle Award for achieving “the best overall record for outstanding flying performance and academic excellence.”

Remaining at Edwards on exchange with USAF 6512 Test Squadron, John flew Test Operations for his first year as well as conducting special weapons drops using an F-4 and captive carriage tests for the new High speed Anti-Radiation Missile. Much of his flying involved safety chase missions, perhaps the most interesting being his participation in the NASA space shuttle development program, for which he flew an A-37 on the wing of the Boeing 747 modified to carry Enterprise.

Early in 1978, John joined the A-10 Combined Test Force which was conducting early flight development and test evaluations for the USAF’s A-10 fleet. He led more than 20 test projects, including 40 gunfire testing flights to prevent engine compressor stalls, as well as inverted negative G stability and control tests. John also headed the industry selection tests on Inertial Navigation and Heads Up Display systems and, working with a KC-135 icing spray rig, he flew A-10 engine icing tests, which developed procedures for safe descent and landing in icy conditions. His final work on the A-10 was the Crosswind Landing project that helped establish a maximum crosswind limit for landing under varied conditions.

Returning to Canada in 1980, John was posted to AETE as a Qualified Experimental Test Pilot and head of Aircraft Flight Test for the Canadian air force’s fixed wing aircraft fleets. He flew 54 CF-104 sorties to test the new Litton LW33 Inertial Navigation and Attack System to determine the precision needed for high speed, ultra-low navigation and delivery of weapons for the CF-104 squadrons in Europe. Once CF-18s started arriving, he became the senior CF-18 test pilot. He designed and carried out all projects testing Canada’s new fighter, including wing flutter tests, establishing speed and G limitations for weapons use, air-to-air refuelling, air-to-ground and air-to-air flight operations, and navigational accuracy.

Following one year at the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, John was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1985, and posted to Ottawa as Operations Requirements Manager in the CF-18 Project Management Office, a specialized body tasked with transitioning the growing CF-18 fleet to the front line. He was later made Deputy Project Manager, in addition to being offered command of a tactical fighter squadron in Europe. But the experimental test world beckoned; John retired from the RCAF in 1988, immediately joining the National Research Council’s Flight Research Laboratory.

With NRC, he flew in support of a variety of projects, including for the Canadian Space Agency. Flying a modified T-33 and Falcon 20, John carried out parabolic flight profiles for astronaut microgravity training, which repeatedly provided thirty seconds of weightlessness. All told, John flew over 250 microgravity episodes for Canadian astronauts, including Roberta Bondar, Marc Garneau (CAHF, 2008), Steve MacLean, Ken Money, Julie Payette (CAHF, 2010), Bob Thirsk, and Bjarni Tryggvason (CAHF, 2022).

Operating a specially equipped Convair 580, John conducted many flights for magnetic surveys over northern Canada and Greenland to be used for locating iron ore deposits or submarines. During development of an upgraded radar set for Canada’s Aurora maritime patrol aircraft, he used synthetic aperture techniques to enhance performance and, on deployment to England, he worked in support of a combined Australian-Canadian-UK-US project evaluating airborne radar systems identification of various armoured vehicles against different backgrounds.

John also conducted many flights with the Convair 580 to gather data on icing and storms. The Canadian Atlantic Storms Program aimed to improve understanding and prediction of east coast storms through study of the interaction between the atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice. For the Beaufort and Arctic Storms Experiment, John flew in support of a study of the Beaufort Sea area designed to assess and better predict its climactic impact on the surrounding region. The Canadian Freezing Drizzle experiments gathered atmospheric data to improve understanding and prediction of severe icing and freezing and their effects on aircraft performance. During the 1998 Ice Storm that shut down eastern Canada, John flew every day saying that the most dangerous part was driving the icy roads to the airport. These tests led to new safety protocols for flying in icy conditions and added to models for predicting weather patterns and storms.

John also conducted many flights with the Convair 580 to gather data on icing and storms. The Canadian Atlantic Storms Program aimed to improve understanding and prediction of east coast storms through study of the interaction between the atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice. For the Beaufort and Arctic Storms Experiment, John flew in support of a study of the Beaufort Sea area designed to assess and better predict its climactic impact on the surrounding region. The Canadian Freezing Drizzle experiments gathered atmospheric data to improve understanding and prediction of severe icing and freezing and their effects on aircraft performance. During the 1998 Ice Storm that shut down eastern Canada, John flew every day saying that the most dangerous part was driving the icy roads to the airport. These tests led to new safety protocols for flying in icy conditions and added to models for predicting weather patterns and storms.

In a collaborative effort with Transport Canada and NASA, he assessed different anti-icing fluids on aircraft to determine the maximum safe hold-over times after airplanes were deiced at airports. The World Climate Research Program, the Radiation and Aerosol Cloud Experiment studying the effect of aerosols on climate, the Boreal Ecosystem Atmospheric Study on the interaction between Canadian boreal forests and the atmosphere, and a project measuring greenhouse gas fluctuation in Nova Scotia, California, and Kansas, were additional projects researching climate change for which John flew.

A major part of John’s work with NRC involved test flying in the service of safer takeoffs and landings. As a Project Manager, he developed innovative curved precision approaches using a Microwave Landing System that enabled air traffic controllers to shorten approach times to safely land more aircraft. Another project, the GPS precision approach test, was a collaboration between the U.S. FAA and Transport Canada. John helped determine that GPS could be used for precision guided airport approaches in Canada and the U.S.

Perhaps the most important testing John carried out with NRC was his lead role in the Joint Winter Runway Friction Measurement Program, a five-year study on winter runway friction on contaminated surfaces. Working alongside a team of partners, including Transport Canada, NASA, the FAA, and agencies from Norway, England, Germany, and France, John’s team flew some 275 full anti-skid aircraft braking runs on 70 contaminated surfaces with 10 different types of commercial aircraft, including those from Bombardier and Boeing. The findings from John’s research flights established the Canadian Runway Friction Index, which improved the safety of winter landings worldwide.

By the time he retired from flying in 2001, John had amassed over 7300 flying hours in the advancement of military and civilian aviation and had authored more than 20 technical publications. Over the course of his highly accomplished career, he was presented with the Transport Canada Safety Award and the McKee Trophy from the Canadian and Aeronautic Space Institute. In 2019, he was made a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in Los Angeles, an honour given to only 10 per cent of its international membership of 2500.