LANCASTER RECOGNIZES TEST PILOTS; HEROES OF SPACE TO BE ADDED TO AEROSPACE WALK OF HONOR.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer The first pilot of the B-2 stealth bomber and the man who flew the first Blackbird spy plane flight are among the five 1999 inductees into Lancaster's Aerospace Walk of Honor The Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, California, USA, is a continually-growing venue for honoring test pilots who have significantly contributed to aviation and space research and development. . Selected for the honor this year are Bruce Hinds, the first B-2 pilot; Louis Schalk, the first Blackbird pilot; Fred Ascani, a one-time speed-record holder; Stanley Butchart, the man who piloted the mother ship for numerous rocket-plane flights; and Corwin ``Corky'' Meyer, who piloted many of the airplanes developed by Grumman Corp. during the 1940s and 50s. The five men will be honored Sept. 18 by the city of Lancaster The City of Lancaster (2002 population: 133,914) is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. Its main town is Lancaster, from which it obtained its city status. Other towns in the district include Morecambe, Heysham, Slyne, and Carnforth. with plaques mounted on 6-foot-tall granite monuments along Lancaster Boulevard. The city will also host a formal dinner for the men later that day. Hinds is best known for flying the first stealth bomber on July 17, 1989, from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. . He served as Northrop's chief test pilot on the B-2 program. Hinds has flown for more than 12,000 hours in 70 different types of aircraft, including bombers, fighters, spy planes and cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft is an airplane designed and used for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. This role demands a number of features that makes a cargo aircraft instantly identifiable; a "fat" looking fuselage, a high-wing to allow the cargo area to sit near the ground, a . His awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals from his Air Force career. He also is a winner of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots' Iven C. Kincheloe Award The Iven C. Kincheloe Award recognizes outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing. It was established in 1958 by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and honors the memory of test pilot and Korean War ace Iven C. and the Engineers Council's Chuck Yeager  This page is currently protected from editing until disputes have been resolved. Award. Schalk is perhaps best known for piloting the first flight of the A-12, the first of the Blackbird spy plane family, in April 1962. He served as a test pilot for the Air Force, flying the F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1958 until 1967. It continued in service with the Air National Guard until it was phased out in 1975. , before joining Lockheed Aircraft. Schalk has flown more than 5,000 hours in 70 different aircraft. His awards include the Society of Experimental Test Pilots' Iven C. Kincheloe Award. Ascani is a World War II veteran, a former vice commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards and a pilot who has flown 50 experimental aircraft, including the X-1 and X-4 rocket planes and the XF-92A. While serving as executive of the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio, Ascani was involved in the selection of Chuck Yeager as the pilot to break the sound barrier in the X-1. Ascani logged more than 5,400 hours of flying and, in 1951, set a world speed record of 635.686 mph over a 100-kilometer closed course. Ascani's awards include two Distinguished Flying Crosses, five Air Medals, two Army commendation medals, and the Thompson and MacKay trophies. Butchart was the pilot of the B-29 and P-2B airplanes used to launch rocket-powered, experimental aircraft in the 1950s. He was involved with the X-1A, the X-1B, the X-1E and the D-558-II rocket plane programs. Butchart was chief and later director of flight operations at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. . He supervised the flight operations for the X-15 and lifting body programs. Butchart is a charter member and past president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in . His awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Presidential Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation is a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act, usually in the face of an armed enemy. . Meyer flew 125 different aircraft during his career with the Grumman Corp. He flew all of the high-performance aircraft made throughout the world in the 1940s, including a captured Japanese Zero. Meyer served as Grumman's project pilot for the Hellcat, Tigercat, Bearcat, Panther, Jaguar, Tiger and Super Tiger programs. He is also the first civilian pilot to qualify for operating jet aircraft off an aircraft carrier. Meyer is a founding member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a winner of the society's James H. Doolittle Award The James H. Doolittle Award is an honor presented annually by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. It is an award for "outstanding accomplishment in technical management or engineering achievement in aerospace technology". . He is also an inductee of the Naval Carrier Test Pilots Hall of Fame. The Aerospace Walk of Honor was created in 1990 as a way for the city of Lancaster to recognize test pilots who have made outstanding contributions to the aerospace industry. Each year, five test pilots who have connections to Edwards Air Force Base are inducted into the Walk of Honor. With this year's inductees, the walk now has 50 members. CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1) ASCANI (2) BUTCHART (3) HINDS (4) MEYER (5) SCHALK |
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