"Through my academic journey, I saw my passion for aviation come into clear view. I saw I could be successful at work through the Purdue Co-Op program, and got key encouragement from several professors at just the right times. These professors helped me see my potential for achieving goals through hard work and tenacity. They made it clear that hard work and grit can outpace book smarts just about every time.”
Jim Winkelman's role at Rolls-Royce has him overseeing engineering work in systems, program management, verification, and test and measurement engineering for all defense programs in the Rolls-Royce portfolio — more than 400 engineers worldwide. He also oversees a multitude of test capabilities ranging through component, sub-system, whole engine, and flight test facilities.
As chief of flight test engineering for North America, Jim also provides technical leadership for development and certification of Rolls-Royce engines on the wings of customer and Rolls-Royce aircraft.
Jim’s earlier roles at Rolls-Royce included manager of the Rolls-Royce flying test bed, flight test manager for the Pearl 15 engine program at Bombardier and the Pearl 700 engine program at Gulfstream, technical lead for systems engineering and test for the JSF/F136 engine program, and lead application engineer for the AE 3007C2/Cessna Citation X+ program.
While working at Gulfstream Aerospace, Jim was lead flight test engineer for the G550 and G450 programs, along with IPT lead for test for the G650 program. Jim was also a designated engineering representative with FAA delegation in Propulsion, Mechanical Systems & Flight Controls, and ECS & Pressurization. While working at Micro Craft, Jim was as lead design engineer on the NASA X-43A Hyper-X program, which set the record for fastest airbreathing vehicle: Mach 10.
In addition to his bachelor's degree from Purdue's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, he also earned master's from Embry-Riddle in human factors and aviation safety. Jim is a commercial pilot and aircraft owner with more than 1,700 hours logged.