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PETER MERLIN
restricted aspects
of the project. Unfortunately, some who contributed to the NASA/USAF
YF-12
investigations have not outlived the blanket of security that covered
their
work. Those who have must reach back more than 20 years to retrieve
anecdotes
and historical details. In a sense, the oral history interviews in this
monograph amount to a sort of salvage archeology into the fading
memories
of the remaining YF-12 participants.
Over the years, numerous books
and articles have been written about the Blackbirds, but few give more
than a brief description of the YF-12 and its role as a research
aircraft.
In this monograph, Merlin briefly describes the origins of the
Blackbird
family of aircraft and how NASA became involved with them. Each of the
following
chapters then describes a facet of the NASA/USAF YF-12 research program
in detail. This monograph would not have
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The Smell of Kerosene
A Test Pilot’s Odyssey
By Donald L. Mallick
with Peter W. Merlin
NASA SP 2003-4108
Hardbound w/dust jacket, 252 pages, 70 B&W photos
The Smell of
Kerosene tells the dramatic story of a NASA research pilot who logged
over
11,000 flight hours in more than 125 types of
aircraft. Donald Mallick gives the reader fascinating first-hand
descriptions of his early naval flight training, carrier operations,
and his research flying career with NASA and its predecessor agency,
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
Mallick joined the NACA as a research pilot at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory at Hampton, Virginia, where he flew modified helicopters and jets, and witnessed the NACA’s evolution into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
After transferring to the NASA Flight Research Center (now NASA Dryden Flight Research Center) at Edwards, California, he became involved with projects that further pushed the boundaries of aerospace technology. These included the giant delta-winged XB-70 supersonic research airplane, the wingless M2-F1 lifting body vehicle, and the triple-sonic YF-12 Blackbird. Mallick also test flew the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) and helped develop techniques used in training astronauts to land on the Moon.
Fans of
the Lockheed Blackbirds will not want to miss Chapter 9, a 32-page
inside look at YF-12A and SR-71 flight operations from the pilot’s
seat.
Spin Doctor
Dick Thomas flew high-risk maneuvers and unique testbeds
By Peter W. Merlin
June 2006
Richard G. "Dick" Thomas, best known for test flying TACIT BLUE at Area
51 in the 1980s has died. He passed away June 19, 2006, following a
long struggle with Parkinson's disease.
Born April 2, 1930, in Chautuaqua, N.Y., Thomas first flew in an open
cockpit Stearman biplane at Parks College, St. Louis University, where
he studied engineering. A graduate of the Reserve Officer Training
Corps program he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air
Foce. He earned his wings in 1952 when he completed primary flight
training in the T-6 at Marana Air Base, Ariz. In 1953 he completed
basic flight training at James Connally Air Force Base at Waco, TX.
After transitioning to jets in the T-33 he flew the F-80C and completed
his service in 1956.
He left the regular Air Force for a flight test job with Beech Aircraft
in Wichita, KS. He conducted production flight testing of nearly all
Beechcraft products including the Model 18, Model 35 Bonanza, Model 50,
and King Air. He also joined the Kansas Air National Guard as a member
of the 127th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and flew the F-86D and F-100D
until 1961.
In 1958, he went to work for Boeing where he tested the ERB-47 and
B-52. He conducted flutter tests in the B-52H with Skybolt missiles
attached to wing pylons, and helped develop a maximum separation
maneuver for the release of nuclear weapons from an altitude of 55,000
feet. In 1962, the company sent him to U.S. Navy Test Pilot School
where he graduated as a member of Class 31.
Thomas left Boeing for Northrop in 1963 and served as test pilot for
the T-38 and all models of the F-5. During 107 spin tests he developed
ways to recover from end-over-end tumbles. His hazardous
high-angle-of-attack stall and spin testing in the F-5 established
procedures now followed by fighter pilots around the world. He also
flew the X-21 laminar flow control testbed aircraft.
In September 1969, as part of the 6th National Championship Air Races,
he participated in the 1,667-mile Harold's Club Transcontinental Dash
from Milwaukee, WI, to Reno, Nev., flying a World War II vintage F4U
Corsair.
In 1977 and 1978, Thomas spent time in Madrid, Spain, helping the
Spanish Air Force flight test the CASA C-101 trainer aircraft. He
carried out a complete stability and control and spin-testing program
despite the fact that the airplane lacked a spin recovery chute.
As Northrop chief test pilot, Thomas led the flight-testing of TACIT
BLUE, a one-of-a-kind demonstrator. He flew the first flight of TACIT
BLUE at Groom Lake, Nevada, on 5 February 1982 and piloted 70 of the
airplane's 135 flights. According to the U.S. Air Force, TACIT BLUE was
one of the most successful high-technology demonstrator programs ever
conducted. It had a direct influence on the design of the B-2 stealth
bomber including development of the flight control system, low
observables shaping and materials, propulsion installation, and
electronic systems. Carried out in total secrecy, the TACIT BLUE
program was not declassified until 1996 when the airplane was publicly
unveiled at the U.S. Air Force Museum (now National Museum of the U.S.
Air Force) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Thomas stopped flying in 1986, but continued to work on the B-2
program, developing flying techniques in the simulator before the first
flight. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test
Pilots and received the Iven C. Kincheloe Award in 1996 (retroactive to
1982) for his work with TACIT BLUE. He retired from Northrop Grumman in
2000. In 2002 he was named a Pioneer of Stealth. Thomas was honored at
the Flight Test Historical Foundation's Gathering of Eagles in 2004 and
inducted into the Lancaster Aerospace Walk of Honor in 2005. During his
career he logged 8,000 hours flying more than 116 different aircraft.
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