High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Air Vice Marshal Ellis Charles Wackett CB, CBE (13 April 1901 – 3 August 1984) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Its chief engineer from 1935 to 1959, he served on the RAAF`s controlling body, the Air Board, for a record 17 years, and has been credited with infusing operations with new standards of airworthiness. Commencing his service career as a Royal Australian Navy cadet during World War I, Wackett transferred to the Air Force in 1923 while on an engineering course in Britain. He qualified as a pilot before completing his studies and returning to Australia, where he inaugurated parachute instruction within the RAAF and made the country`s first freefall descent from a military aircraft in 1926. The following year, he led a three-month survey flight to Papua New Guinea.