Howard Dean Neeley

Dean “Gucci” Neeley is a research pilot at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. He retired as Armstrong’s deputy chief research pilot in 2020 and returned in 2021 as a part-time contractor.

Experience

Neeley flies a diverse array of highly modified airborne science, research and mission support aircraft. These include the single-seat Lockheed ER-2 high-altitude science jet, the Boeing 747SP Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) airplane, the Gulfstream III (G-III) mission support aircraft, C-20A (G-III) science aircraft carrying NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s synthetic aperture radar and the TG-14 research motorglider.

Neeley joined NASA’s Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center flight operations in 2012 after serving 25 years as a U.S. Air Force officer and pilot, retiring with the rank of colonel.

During his military career, Col. Neeley served in headquarters staff positions as the director of Theater Security Cooperation and chief of Operational Plans at U.S. Air Forces Central Command, following joint duty as a division chief and politico-military affairs officer at the U.S. European Command.

Neeley spent his first 19 years in the Air Force as a reconnaissance squadron commander, fighter wing chief of safety, stealth fighter squadron director of operations as well as combat pilot in numerous aircraft, including fighter, reconnaissance, tanker, airlift, trainer and bomber jets in multiple worldwide aerial combat campaigns. He accrued 5,850 flight hours as a command pilot, primarily in the U-2, F-117, T-38, KC-10, T-37 and B-52G/H.

Education and Honors

Neeley holds a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University and a
Master of Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His military decorations include more than 25 individual and unit awards. He is a life member of the Order of Daedalians military pilot fraternity, Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, the Air Force Association and the Stealth Fighter Association. He also volunteers his time as a tow pilot and glider instructor pilot supporting wounded warriors and promoting careers in flight to STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math, students.