Rosamond Skypark

The Rosamond Skypark Association

Ed Bradfield 1935-2021

Ed, another long-time resident of the Skypark and lifetime aviator, was born October 4, 1935 in Leesburg, Virginia and passed away on January 13, 2021.

He was an Aeronautical Engineer, Flight Test Engineer and Program Manager with Northrop Grumman Corp.

Ed's career in aviation began when he joined the Air Force in 1958 and began flying with the Scott AFB Aero Club. He resigned from the Air Force in 1965 and was employed for 35 years as a flight test engineer by the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California and later by the Northrop Grumman Corporation. His work included performance/flying qualities testing and systems evaluations on a variety of Air Force, Navy, and civilian aircraft including the B-l and B-2 bombers, B-52G Cruise Missile Carrier, F5F, KC-135R Tanker, C-5A Wing Modification, C-130, YC-14 STOL Transport, Boeing 737, French Mirage G, P-1127, OV-1, A-4, and numerous classified aircraft programs. He developed and published a method for determining Air Minimum Directional Control Speed of aircraft that did not require flying at low altitudes. Memorandum on this subject is in use today at the US Air Force Test Pilot School.

In his retirement years at the Skypark I knew Ed only as a quiet sort of fellow with whom I had occasional casual conversations, mostly seeing him as he was departing or arriving on his regular solo flights in his Bonanza, and it was only through preparing this page that I discovered we had actually been stationed at Scott AFB together back in the late 1950’s.  Appropriately to this view, he was a member of the Quiet Birdmen, an invitation-only pilot's society dating back to 1921 whose members have included the likes of Charles Lindbergh, Jimmie Doolittle, Eddie Rickenbacker, Wiley Post and many more.  Obviously, there is much, much more that could be told about his life & times, and below we share a bit more in an offering supplied by Robert Kennington.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Ruth Crim and Edward N. Bradfield, Sr and his sister Ellen Bradfield DeCourcy. He is survived by his sister Jane Bradfield Davison, nieces Susan DeCourcy LeMarr (Ronald), Anne DeCourcy George (Fred), nephews John S. DeCourcy, Jr (Rosemary), John W. Davison (Amy), and Brad Davison.

He was laid to rest with his parents in Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

John Wilson
Rosamond Skypark
March 2021

Offered by Robert Kennington:

I arrived at Edwards AFB in 1972 just a few months after graduating from Auburn University with an engineering degree, receiving a draft notice, and enlisting in the USAF. Ed was my first boss at Edwards. I owe most of my later career success to Ed’s early mentorship.

Ed would not accept mediocre work from any of his troops. I clearly remember the day he returned my first technical report back to me after he read it and provided his comments. He wrote on the cover of my report in huge red letters the words that describe what comes out the rear end of canines. I had thought my first technical report was a work of genius which would surely get an A+ from Ed, but Ed was not pleased. It turns out Ed was correct in his blunt assessment of my early work. Thus began my long quest to please Ed and avoid his wrath for doing anything less that excellent work.

In later years when discussing career highlights with other senior civilian leaders at Edwards, we noted that almost all of us had worked for Ed early in our careers. Ed’s supervisory style was viewed by some as unconventional, but Ed was proven to be highly effective in developing future civilian leaders at Edwards AFB. May he rest in eternal peace.

Bob Kennington, Rosamond, CA