Boeing F-15 Test Pilot Is Guest Speaker at Aviation Explorer Post Meeting

By Carmelo Turdo

Boeing F-15 Experimental Test Pilot Jason "Mongoose" Dotter was the guest speaker at the Aviation Explorer Post 9032 monthly meeting Wednesday evening. The informal presentation began in the auditorium of the James S. McDonnell Prologue Room and migrated to the musem area containing oversized models of the F-15 and other aircraft manufactured by Boeing and her legacy companies. Post members, high school students from the St. Louis metro area, engaged in a free-flowing discussion with "Mongoose" about the F-15, military flying, aerospace engineering and aviation careers.     

"Mongoose" joined the Boeing flight test team in 2020 following a career in the U.S. Air Force flying the F-15E Strike Eagle operationally and numerous other aircraft types as a military test pilot. His last duty assignment was as the F-15E Test Director with the 84th Test Evaluation Squadron at Eglin AFB, FL. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He currently holds the following civilian certificates and ratings: single and multi-engine land, instrument, commercial and CFI.

"Mongoose" took his first flight ever in the T-37 "Tweet" jet trainer after completing Officer Training School. He then progressed to fly the T-38 Talon supersonic trainer, where he graduated second in his class. He chose, and received, an assignment to fly the F-15E Strike Eagle and later an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in 2006. His call sign was earned during a row with some F-16 pilots during a pre-Red Flag deployment. The Eagle and (F-16) Viper crews were arguing about who shot who during the training mission, and Dotter, not yet having a permanent call sign, became the symbol of a well-known Viper killer, the mongoose. And the name stuck.

Military flying does not require a degree in a science or engineering field, though having one is advantageous. "I kind of had a leg up on my other F-15 classmates because I understood aerodynamics and it was interesting to me," he replied to a question posed on this topic. "There is no hard requirement from the Air Force or the Navy that you have to have a certain type of degree to fly a certain type of plane. However, to go to test pilot school, you have to have hours in the jet, and you have to have an engineering, physics or math degree to be a test pilot." In this case, having the engineering degree contributed to his success.  

The members of Aviation Explorer Post 9032 regularly meet role models such as "Mongoose" at their monthly meetings and special events throughout the year. Post membership offers a wide range of aviation activities, field trips and career preparation options. The post works closely with EAA Chapter 32, based at St. Charles County Smartt Field, where the Explorers gain practical knowledge and skills in aircraft construction and maintenance along with their flight opportunities. Contact Aviation Explorer Post 9032 for membership information.