Mr. Mark Jones Jr. is a husband, father, experimental test pilot, and writer. He is a 1999 Distinguished Graduate from the United States Air Force Academy and an East West Fellow from 1999-2000 at the University of Hawaii. Mark flew the C-17A Globemaster III in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and then instructed Air Force pilot training flying the T-6A Texan II. He also flew the MQ-9 in the Global War on Terror and led Operational Test and Evaluation at Air Force Special Operations Command headquarters, where he retired as a Colonel. He was the Outstanding Graduate in Mathematics and received his master’s degree from the University of Charleston in 2006. In 2008 he graduated from the United States Air Force Test Pilot School with a master’s degree in Flight Test Engineering.

As a civilian Mark consulted for the Department of Defense and various aircraft manufacturers from all over the world, and he continues to consult as a Designated Engineering Representative, Flight Test Pilot for the Federal Aviation Administration and various aircraft manufacturers. He currently works for an aircraft manufacturer as a manager and experimental test pilot. Mark has experience in flying more than 30 kinds of aircraft and holds Airline Transport Pilot and Multi-Engine Instructor certificates. Mark has taught courses as an adjunct faculty, a military instructor pilot, and an experimental test pilot. He is an associate fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and a member of the Flight Test Safety Committee and the Society of Flight Test Engineers.