Edward Allen Osborne, Jr.

Preferred Name: Ed
Date of Birth: February 28, 1939
Highest Military Grade: 0-5 – Lieutenant Colonel
Hometown: Long Island, NY

Ed Osborne says, “”I was flying F-100s and was only hit once,” Ed Osborne said. “It was my second-to-last mission and we were attacking a 37-millimeter gun site during a rescue of a downed pilot. I was nose-to-nose with the gun and only through the grace of God did I survive. I consider every day since then to be a special gift.” (1)

is the “Retired president and former owner, AMI Aircraft Seating Systems (now Goodrich Aircraft Interior Products). Ed joined AMI in 1983 with more than 20 years of experience in the aviation field. He flew nine years as an F-100 fighter pilot, and taught engineering mechanics and aircraft structural design as a tenured professor at the Air Force Academy from 1969 to 1982. His flying years included 213 combat missions in Vietnam.

As an engineer, director of engineering and vice president at AMI, he helped to develop the U.S. space shuttle seats and used his background in the design of tall buildings for survival in earthquakes to develop the concepts used in today’s crashworthy aircraft seats. In March 1984, Jim MacDougald, Tom Ekle and Ed took over management of AMI. In 1987, they incorporated as Turnaround, Inc. and acquired ownership of AMI. During this period, they successfully took AMI through a Chapter 11 reorganization.

As a recognized leader in dynamic seat design and testing, Dr. Osborne served on the SAE/FAA ad-hoc committee that wrote the new Aerospace Standard 8049 on dynamic testing of aircraft seats. He also chaired the Air Transport Association task force on testing and certification on aircraft crew seats. In 1997, Ed and his partners sold AMI to Coltec Industries which then merged with the Goodrich Corporation. Ed retired as president in 1998.

In addition to serving on the board of trustees of the University of Colorado Foundation, Ed is past board chair of the Goodwill Industries of Colorado Springs Foundation, is past chair of the board of Goodwill Industries International. He has also served as a member of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Board. He is a past President of the El Paso Club Board, and past chair of the TheatreWorks Advisory Board at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.” (2)

Source:(1) https://gazette.com/business/the-work-of-osbornes-nets-lifetime-entrepreneurship-award/article_3605f67b-6d33-57f4-a1be-7ae778c3e125.html (2) https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/edward-osborne