PILOT KILLED IN CRASH TO BE REMEMBERED ON WALK OF HONOR.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer LANCASTER - A Rockwell test pilot killed in the 1984 crash of a B-1A bomber at 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. will be among five aviators Well-known aviators People largely known for their contributions to the history of aviation While all of these people were pilots (and some still are), many are also noted for contributions in areas such as aircraft design and manufacturing, navigation or inducted next month 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. . Doug Benefield will be inducted along with SR-71 Blackbird “SR-71” redirects here. For other uses, see SR-71 (disambiguation). The Lockheed SR-71 was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed YF-12A and A-12 aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. pilots Robert Gilliland and Robert Riedenauer, YF-23 test pilot Paul Metz and George Muellner, president of Boeing's Phantom works. The men's names will be unveiled on sidewalk markers at a ceremony Sept. 28. Benefield, a veteran of both the Korea and Vietnam wars, was an Air Force and Rockwell North American Aviation North American Aviation was a major US aircraft manufacturer. The company was responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, and the X-15 rocket plane, as well as Apollo test pilot. He flew as a test pilot on the supersonic Concorde. He died Aug. 29, 1984, in a crash of a B-1A bomber during a test mission out of Edwards. Edwards officials later honored Benefield by naming the base's anechoic chamber, an electronic warfare test facility, after him. Riedenauer was a test pilot both both for the SR-71 Blackbird and the F- 117 stealth fighter. A Vietnam war veteran and a graduate of the Test Pilot School at Edwards, he later became the executive director of the Flight Test Historical Foundation, which operates the Edwards base museum. Metz, a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran, graduated from the Test Pilot School at Edwards and later became an instructor at the Navy Test Pilot School in Maryland. Metz was a test pilot for the YF-23, Northrop Grumman's entry in the advanced tactical fighter The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) contract was a demonstration and validation program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter to counter emerging worldwide threats, including development and proliferation of Soviet-era Su-27 program, which lost to Lockheed Martin's F-22. Metz later joined the F-22 program as a test pilot. Muellner retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant general before becoming president of Boeing's Phantom Works. During his 31-year Air Force career, he was a test pilot for the F-15 and the F-16 at Edwards and served during both the Vietnam and Desert Storm wars. Muellner's career also includes a stint as director of what is now the joint strike fighter program The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) became synonymous with the later F-35 Lightning II, however until 2001 the term was applied to the competition between the Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35. . Gilliland is a Navy Academy graduate and a veteran of the Korean War Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. . Gilliland is perhaps best known as the pilot who made the first test flight in the SR-71 Blackbird. The five men's accomplishments will be listed on granite monuments along Lancaster Boulevard. The unveiling ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. during an aerospace street fair that will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 28 on Lancaster Boulevard between 10th Street West and Sierra Highway. There will be live music, food booths and a variety of rocket-engine and aircraft displays at the free fair. The latest mural commissioned by a downtown business organization will be unveiled at 2 p.m. This year's mural depicts Joe Engle, a former X-15 rocket test pilot and one of the first space shuttle astronauts. |
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