News

Longtime test pilot makes final flight

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78 ABW/PA
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  On a chilly, overcast day last week, Lt. Col. Kevin "Iceman" Coleman climbed into the cockpit of an F-15 Eagle for a test flight, just as he had done routinely for the past 15 years at Robins.

But this flight was not routine.

Coleman, who currently holds more flying hours in the F-15 than any other pilot, was making his last flight prior to his retirement on Tuesday.

Members of the 339th Flight Test Squadron and others came out to watch his final takeoff and landing, marking the end of a 30-year Air Force career.

A Robins fire department truck sprayed water over the plane as he taxied in after landing. His son, Austin, and daughter, Ally, sprayed him with hoses after he climbed out of the plane, and friends gathered congratulated him on his achievements.

"I'm really going to miss the people here and the great friends I've made over the last 15 years," Coleman said. "It's really amazing to spend half of one's career at one base."

His wife, Jan, and mother-in-law Maurine Bagley also came out to see the flight.

But it is far from his last ride in an F-15. He is immediately heading to St. Louis, where he will become an F-15 test pilot for Boeing's foreign sales division. He will be flying at locations around the globe, including Singapore, Korea and Saudi Arabia.

"It's fun and I like doing it," he said of flying. "I've set my career to fly as long as possible."

He was the first pilot to reach 100 missions in Desert Storm. He has 5,200 total hours in the F-15, having previously flown F-4s.

Coleman said his call sign "Iceman" was given to him during training as a derivative of his name, as in "cold man."

George Reid, chief of the F-15 Test Flight, was a mechanic at Robins when Coleman first arrived here as a captain.

"Through the years, me and him have kind of grown up together," Reid said. "He has set high standards for us out here. One thing he has never let us forget is that this is not a place for amateurs. You have to be on top of your game here."