4 minute read
A Profile of One of Our Editors, CDR John Ball, USN (Ret.)
A Profile of One of Our Editors, CDR John Ball, USN (Ret.)
John Ball was the second Editor-in-Chief of Rotor Review and has been involved with NHA since 1987. A native of Fairview Park, Ohio, John graduated from the Naval Academy in 1971 and served with HC-6 in Norfolk, flying the H-46 Sea Knight helicopter on two Mediterranean deployments. He earned an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, followed by a tour with HC-11 in San Diego as Officer-in-Charge on a WESTPAC deployment. In 1980, John was selected as an Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer and attended the Rotary Wing Course at the U. S. Naval Test Pilot School, graduating with distinction.
At Pax River, John traveled extensively while testing various Navy and Marine helicopters. In 1982, he made the first ship landing of a tilt-rotor aircraft in the Bell XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft aboard USS Tripoli (LPH-10) off North Island. He was a Program Officer at the Naval Plant Representative Office at Sikorsky Aircraft in Connecticut, where he flew government acceptance flights on new Army UH-60A Blackhawks, Navy SH-60B Seahawks, and Marine CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters. It was a real treat to fly helicopters that smelled new and were nearly spotless.
He returned to San Diego as an Engineering Officer at the Naval Aviation Depot, North Island, and flew post-overhaul check flights on H-46 helicopters. His final tour was on the AIRPAC Staff as Helicopter Engineering Class Desk, retiring in 1991. During his Navy career, John became a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and was a 1987 NASA Finalist for astronaut mission specialist.
While at AIRPAC, John became involved with NHA and relieved CAPT Wayne Jensen, who had started Rotor Review in 1981 as a black-and-white newsletter. Wayne, who passed away in 2012, was truly the Father of Rotor Review, publishing it for six years out of his home in Chula Vista.
In 1985, a permanent NHA Office was established - in the same building as today - at North Island, with Pam Vultè as its first Executive Director. His wife Gay was even NHA’s Membership Coordinator in those days. John retired from the Navy in 1991 and passed the reins to John Driver, starting a succession of active-duty Editors that continues to this day.
John joined Bell Helicopter in Texas as an experimental test pilot and enjoyed nine years flying nearly every model of Bell helicopter. He performed development flights on new models; flew production tests on the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior; trained pilots from all corners of the globe; flew sales tours overseas; and demonstrated the experimental XV-15 Tilt Rotor in a daily routine with the V-22 Osprey in the 1995 Paris Air Show. During his aviation career, John accumulated over 6,000 flight hours in 30 different aircraft models.
In 2003, he joined Northrop Grumman in San Diego, flying a desk as an Engineering Manager for Fire Scout unmanned helicopter programs. Fully retiring in 2012, John reconnected with NHA, joining the NHA Historical Society and serving as a Copy Editor for each issue, as well as writing a number of articles over the years. John has the distinction of being not only an Editor-in-Chief of Rotor Review, but also a Copy Editor - thereby improving the content and quality of this professional magazine.
John has traveled extensively in Europe, learned Italian, and enjoys sailing, surfing, photography, building aircraft models, and aviation history. John was married to the former Katherine Gay Bowell for 47 years until her passing in 2019. Together, they have two married sons and four grandchildren CDR John Ball, USN
