Richard G. Thomas

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.

Early life and education Thomas was born on April 2, 1930, in Chautauqua County, New York, 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 (Beta chapter), and majored in Aeronautical Engineering, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. He also spent time in Madrid, Spain helping the Spanish Air Force flight test the CASA C-101 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 astronauts, Gordon Cooper, Deke Slayton, and Wally Schirra, to maintain proficiency and stay current. He also flew the T-38 with Neil Armstrong as well as Pete Conrad. 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. Though originally a highly classified project; President Bill Clinton 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 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. 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.

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 (USAF – 1951–1956) ROTC – Reserve Officers' Training Corps