Jonathan Knaul

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Jonathan Knaul served 33 years in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a tactical helicopter pilot and as a test pilot. He holds a PhD in Chemical & Materials Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada at Kingston and is a graduate of EPNER—the French Ministry of Defense Test Pilot School. Jonathan is the author of several journal and magazine articles, including two features in Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine that describe his deployments as a CAF helicopter pilot in Kosovo and as a commander in Afghanistan. While caring for his mother in Toronto, and subsequently, he held a senior director position with Canadensys Aerospace Corporation, a remarkable Toronto-based space exploration company. As of 2023, Jonathan is privileged to have returned to the National Test Pilot School in Mojave, California, where he works at his passion as a test pilot instructor alongside a band of very talented and wonderful people. He lives a short drive south of Mojave, in Palmdale, California.