James G. Nelson

James G. “Coach” Nelson is a research pilot at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. He joined Integration Innovation Inc (i3) in 2016 and flies NASA Armstrong’s high-altitude ER-2 Earth science aircraft and the C-20A, a modified Gulfstream III business jet that carries a sophisticated synthetic aperture radar on environmental science missions. He has flown research missions throughout the globe, including a 2016 deployment to Namibia, Africa, and rapid response missions after hurricanes and floods. Nelson is also an instructor pilot for the ER-2 and C-20A aircraft.

Experience

Nelson accumulated 4,000 hours in the U-2 series aircraft during a span of nearly 30 years. He also flew the T-38 for nearly 20 years, logging 2,000 hours in the supersonic jet.  He has accumulated more than 10,500 total flying hours in more than 25 different aircraft. Nelson also designs aircraft. He built a high-performance aircraft, called the F-1 Rocket, from a kit and raced it at three Reno National Championship Air Races, as well as at dozens of other races throughout the U.S. during the last 20 years.

Prior to joining NASA, Nelson was a Lockheed Martin test pilot flying the U-2 from 2010 to 2016. His primary duties included testing and developing sensor and aircraft upgrades for the U.S. Air Force (USAF).  Prior to Lockheed, he was an Eclipse Aviation test pilot from 2009 to 2010, flying production test on the twin-engine, six-seat EA500 jet. During this time, he also flew a season with the U.S. Forest Service as an air attack pilot over wildfires, flying the Commander 690 turboprop aircraft.

While serving in the USAF from 1987 to 2009, he flew three years as a T‑38/T‑37 dual qualified instructor and maintenance test pilot at Reese Air Force Base (AFB) in Lubbock, Texas, and then flew 18 years on T‑38 and U‑2 aircraft at Beale AFB near Marysville, California, and Edwards AFB, California. He was deployed numerous times as a combat operations commander and was responsible for the U-2 operations with five aircraft and 12 pilots in two theaters of war. He has flown more than 300 combat hours in the U-2 over Iraq and Afghanistan. Nelson completed a six-year assignment as a full-time U-2 test pilot developing a new glass cockpit for the U‑2 and maturing numerous state-of-the-art sensor packages. Nelson retired as a major in 2009 and at that time was the most experienced U-2 pilot in the USAF. His military decorations include more than 25 individual and unit awards.

Education

Nelson graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, earning a degree in aerospace engineering, and from Loyola Marymount University’s Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). He is a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). He is a certified Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airline Transport Pilot and FAA instructor.