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Biography
Russell O'Quinn is an internationally known test pilot and aircraft designer. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he joined Douglas Aircraft Company in 1956 and became their far-eastern representative on a classified Reconnaissance Jet Bomber program based in Japan.
After leaving Douglas in 1965 Mr. O'Quinn established the first civilian flight test company in the U.S. He acquired the first civilian-owned fleet of jet fighters and converted them to high performance test beds to provide flight test programs for the nation's aerospace industry and the Department of Defense. The news media referred to him as the "owner of the world's 14th largest jet air force."
In 1969, the U.S. State Department asked Mr. O'Quinn to develop and head the U.S. food airlift to Biafra during the Civil War in Nigeria. Utilizing four giant Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter aircraft on loan from the USAF, he and his crews flew more than 1,000 relief missions under combat conditions to the surrounded area during the one-year conflict.
In 1972, the State Department called on him again to perform a similar program in Bangladesh. He and his staff conducted a major airlift of food and relief supplies to the remote areas of Bangladesh that had been devastated by a civil war and a massive typhoon.
More recently, he has designed and developed a new concept tactical jet fighter. At present, he is demonstrating the prototype of this aircraft to the U.S. military.
Mr. O'Quinn has been featured in Life Magazine as one of the top test pilots in the United States. He has been a guest on the "Today Show" and many other network programs. A television special pertaining to his background and the jet fighter program, entitled "Skyfox", is currently being aired nationally on the PBS network.
Russell and his wife, Mary Alice, reside in Southern California near Edwards Air Force Base.
