Richard G. Thomas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Richard G. Thomas (April 2, 1930 – June 19, 2006) was an American test pilot, who flew the Tacit Blue, and several spin tests on the F-5F program, including the first flights on both aircraft for the
Northrop Corporation Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Spiri ...
.


Early life and education

Thomas was born on April 2, 1930, in
Chautauqua County, New York Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, and its largest city is Jamestown. Its name is believed to be the lone surviving rem ...
, to parents L. Mary Thomas (; 1905–1974), a teacher (Sherman Teachers College), and Donald A. Thomas (1901–1973). He attended Mayville Central High School and graduated in 1948, in Mayville, NY. He attended Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, at St Louis University where he joined the fraternity,
Alpha Delta Gamma Alpha Delta Gamma (), commonly known as ADG, is an American Greek-letter Catholic social fraternity and one of 75 members of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). Based on Christian principles and the traditions of the Jesuit Orde ...
(Beta chapter), and majored in
Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
, graduating with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree. As a graduate of ROTC, he joined the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
as a Second Lieutenant in 1952 and earned his pilot wings in 1952. After graduating from Parks College, and leaving the USAF, he worked for Beech Aircraft Company ( Beechcraft Corporation) in 1956 flying all models, and served with the Kansas Air National Guard from 1956 to 1961. Then he went onto the
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
Company in 1958, in
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
, where he flew the B-47 and B-52. In 1961, Boeing sent him to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. He then left Boeing to join Northrop, in March 1963.


Test pilot career

Thomas started his career as a test pilot for Beech Aircraft Corp in 1952 in Wichita, Kansas. He flew all models for tests and sales. Thomas was also flying for the Air National Guard in Wichita where he and another National Guard pilot had a T-33 crash and burn landing at McConnel Air Base in Wichita. He left Beech and joined Boeing Aircraft flying F-100's for chase and then B-52's flying the highest altitude and the lowest in the B-52 test aircraft. Boeing selected Thomas to attend the US Navy Test Pilot School, Class 31 with future Admirals Box and Wilson. Thomas was slated to be the chief test pilot for the TFX. Boeing did not get the contract and Thomas felt he could find more satisfying flying test at Northrop Corp. in California. He worked for Northrop from 1963 until he retired from flying in 1986. He stayed with the company until 2000, his official retirement, and completed his career with Northrop as a Technical Director applying his knowledge to the B-2 flight test program. He was recognized as a Pioneer of Stealth in 2000, for his involvement in the Tacit Blue program, a plane that utilized
stealth technology Stealth technology, also termed low observable technology (LO technology), is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive and active electronic countermeasures. The term covers a range of military technology, methods used to make personnel ...
. All of the information gained on this program was directly transferred to the B-2 program, as well as other aircraft designs. Thomas also did many spin tests on the F-5 program, including the first flight on the F-5F, at Edwards AFB, September 25, 1974; with a total of 107 spin tests to his credit. His "hazardous high-angle-of-attack stall and spin testing (recovery maneuver) in the F-5 established procedures now followed by fighter pilots around the world." Thomas flew envelope expansion flight tests on all models of the F-5 Freedom Fighter. He also spent time in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Spain helping the Spanish Air Force flight test the
CASA C-101 The CASA C-101 Aviojet is a low-wing single engine jet engine, jet-powered advanced trainer (aircraft), trainer and Ground-attack aircraft, light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Spanish aircraft company Construcciones Aeronáuticas ...
and flew the aircraft in the Farnborough International Airshow in July 1978. Thomas was involved in an ejection in the vicinity of Mount Whitney on November 4, 1965. His aircraft, an F-5A, went into an uncontrollable roll, with one aileron locked in a full-up position, and he was forced to eject. Sustaining only minor injuries, Thomas landed at on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada and was successfully rescued by helicopter, having descended to a lower elevation. The aircraft impacted the ground somewhere north of Owens Lake. In 1964, he was assigned to fly the T-38 with three of the original
Mercury Seven The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959: Scott ...
astronauts,
Gordon Cooper Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force Aviator, pilot, and the youngest of the Mercury Seven, seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the f ...
,
Deke Slayton Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was an American Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's first Chief of the Astronaut O ...
, and
Wally Schirra Walter Marty Schirra Jr. ( ; March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007) was an American naval aviator (United States), naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. In 1959, he became one of the Mercury Seven, original seven astronauts chosen for Pro ...
, to maintain proficiency and stay current. He also flew the T-38 with
Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...
as well as
Pete Conrad Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. (June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999) was an American NASA astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer, aviator, and test pilot who commanded the Apollo 12 mission, on which he became the third person to walk on t ...
. During his time as a pilot for KANG ( Kansas Air National Guard), he also survived a fiery crash in the T-33. In 1956, at McConnell AFB, unable to blow the canopy or jettison the fuel tanks, due to engine malfunction and electrical failure, he and the other pilot, Pat Windsor, had to hand crank the canopy to escape the burning jet. During his flying career, Thomas accumulated 8,000 hours flying more than 116 different aircraft.


Tacit Blue

Thomas flew one of the most successful, high technology demonstrator programs in the history of the U.S. Air Force, Tacit Blue a top secret project that flew out of
Area 51 Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada, north-northwest of Las Vegas. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force B ...
. Though originally a highly classified project;
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
declassified some of Tacit Blue in 1996 and Thomas was then able to tell some of his story. The Tacit Blue, also known as the "whale," applied composite material and curvilinear surfaces to deflect radar. The aircraft was unstable in pitch and yaw, and employed a
fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional aircraft flight control system#Hydro-mechanical, manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic sig ...
technology. The first flight February 5, 1982, was flown by Thomas, the only civilian test pilot on the project. He flew 70 of the 135 flights that were completed, including the 100th sortie in 1984. Four other pilots included in the program were USAF pilots. Only a single plane was built, as it was a technology demonstrator aircraft, and it is now housed in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, (Wright Patterson Air Force Museum) in Dayton, Ohio.


Death

Thomas died on June 19, 2006, after complications from
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
. He was 76 years old.


Personal life

Thomas married in 1958 to Cynda Thomas (née Smith) and had three children. He moved to the Antelope Valley in 1963, to work for Northrop Grumman at
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...
.


Honors

Thomas became a member in 1964, and was elected a (
Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
) in 1981, of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, (SETP). He was also a recipient of the Herman R. Salmon Award in 1977, awarded for best technical paper published in
Cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...
Magazine (for the F-5 test program). He received the Iven C. Kincheloe Award in 1996 (for Tacit Blue retroactively, 1982). He was named a Pioneer of Stealth in 2000, for work on Tacit Blue. He was honored and named an "Eagle" in 2004, at the Gathering of Eagles – Flight Test Historical Foundation, Edwards, California. He was recognized by the Aerospace Walk of Honor in 2005, (monument located at Boeing Plaza), in the city of Lancaster, California. He also received an induction into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame, in 2015 at Nellis AFB, for his work in Nevada on Tacit Blue at
Area 51 Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada, north-northwest of Las Vegas. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force B ...
, including
Groom Lake Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada, north-northwest of Las Vegas. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Ba ...
, and the Tonopah Test Range.


Affiliations

* SETP – Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Lancaster, California * QBs – Quiet Birdmen – Lancaster, California * U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Maryland—Omega – Class #31 * Kansas Air National Guard (KANG) 1956–1961 – Wichita, Kansas *
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
(USAF – 1951–1956) * ROTC –
Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...


Bibliography

* Thomas, Richard G. "Hell Of A Ride": ''The Tacit Blue Story'', (2008) Iuniverse, Inc, New York, Cynda Thomas, (author)


References


External links


Flight Test historical FoundationNG Spirit of Innovation


retrieved June 15, 2016

* U.S. Air Force Fact Shee


Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Richard G. American test pilots Saint Louis University alumni American aerospace engineers United States Air Force officers People from Mayville, New York Northrop Grumman people Boeing people American aviation pioneers United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni 1930 births 2006 deaths Engineers from New York (state) 20th-century American engineers