I FROM THE BEGINNING
Born in New York City, 1925, to immigrant parents from Sitia, Crete; a widower
in good health, with four children and five grandchildren
II EDUCATION
A graduate of: Virginia Polytechnic Institute (B.S. Degree, 1949);
University of Richmond (M.A. Degree, 1951); first year McGill University Medical School, (1952);
C.A.A. Test Pilot School , (1957)
III MILITARY
A WW-II Combat Pilot and Senior Pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps/U. S. Air Force/Air National Guard, (1943-1951)
IV GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT
An FAA career as the Chief Test Pilot, Aerospace Engineer and Manager of
the Eastern Region's Flight Test Branch, (1956-1995)
V PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
A. The FAA, (as a retiree, from 1995 to the present): Safety Counselor; Test Pilot and Aerospace Engineer
"Designee"; Flight Instructor; and Airline Transport Pilot,
B. The National Transportation Safety Board Association, active Member
C. The International Society of Air Safety Investigators, active Member
D. The Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, active Member
E. The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Lifetime Member
F. The Society of Aviation Flight Educators, Charter Member
G. Former Adjunct Professor, State University of N.Y., Aviation Dept.
H. U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Auxiliary, Staff Member
I. USAF Civil Air Patrol, former Chief Check-Pilot
J. The American Legion Aviators Post 743, Member/Chaplain
VI HONORS, AWARDS AND RATINGS
A. The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), (the highest military aviation award), earned in 1944,
for heroism, courage and resourcefulness in saving his crew and their heavily damaged
B-24 "Liberator" bomber, following aerial combat over the Phillipines. This was his 16th
combat mission out of the 40 that he conducted in the Pacific Theater, bombing the Japanese.
As the Crew Commander and Pilot, he was still a "skinny, scared" 19 year old "teenager".
B. The U.S. Air Force Air Medal, with six Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, earned during his other
combat missions.
C. The FAA Airline Transport Pilot Rating (ATP), with 24 "Type Ratings" as Pilot In Command of
jet transport airplanes and helicopters, such as four different Boeing Transports and four
different Gulfstream Business Jets; the Jetstar; the Sabreliner; the Citation; and Bombardier's
CL-600 and CL-601.
Nine of these Ratings are in helicopters, such as the Boeing CH-47 Chinook and the CH-46
Sky-Knight; the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane, the S-61 Sky-King, the S-61R Green Giant, and
the SK-76 Spirit; plus the Bell 412, the 212 and the 206. He has flown and tested over 150 types
of Landplanes, Seaplanes, Helicopters, Gliders and Hot Air Balloons over the past 74 years as a
Professional Pilot.
D. He was awarded FAA's coveted "Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award", following 50 years of piloting.
E. He was honored by the FAA in the 1960's when he was selected as the FAA-Designated "Air-Force-One" Test
Pilot, for the conduct of Flight Test Programs on President Lyndon Johnson's Boeing 707, (AF-1 # 26000),
and on Vice President Hubert Humphrey's "Air-Force-Two" Jetstar, which he always completed expeditiously.
VII IN CLOSING
At age 92, James Plackis still maintains currency as a Pilot and Test Pilot, actively performing
test flights for the Federal Aviation Administration as a DER ("Designated Engineering Representative"),
whenever they are unavailable to handle programs. He has been piloting for 74 years, and
has accumulated over 13,600 flight hours, mostly as a test pilot His most recent project for the FAA was in
performing the flight test evaluation of a Russian passenger jet, ("Roussiya Airlines"), in Shannon, Ireland, last April,
2017. This was a Boeing 737-800, the same plane that he had previously evaluated in the Czech Republic during
December, 2016, for transporting U.S. passengers, and which he declined to approve at that time.
ANACO-DVd David G. Porter
USCG Auxiliary, 1SR
