Lionel D. Alford, Jr. is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. He currently designs aircraft for Defense Research Associates, a Dayton, Ohio company. He is an experimental test pilot with over 6000 hours in more than 64 different kinds of aircraft, a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and holds an Airline Transport Pilot license in three jet aircraft. Alford served as the Chief of System Safety Engineering for Global Reach System Program Office; Chief, Airframe, Propulsion, Avionics, and Electronic Warfare Team at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command; Chief, Special Operations Forces Test and Evaluation Division at Wright-Patterson; Chief, Testing Commercial Aircraft for Military Acquisition Office at Edwards Air Force Base, California; and was the chief test pilot for a number of Air Force acquisitions. He is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School, Defense Systems Management College Advanced Program Management Course, Air War College, and Air Command and Staff College. Alford is an author and lecturer with over 41 articles featured in international publications and is a featured writer on www.wingsoverkansas.com.  He is a doctoral candidate in aeronautical engineering at the University of Dayton and holds a M.S. in mechanical engineering from Boston University and a B.S. in chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University.