Aerospace Walk of Honor
Encyclopedia
The Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, California
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...

, USA, honors test pilots who have contributed to aviation and space research and development.

The Aerospace Walk of Honor
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...

 awards were established in 1990 by the City of Lancaster "to recognize the important contributions of unique and talented aviators who soared above the rest." A center of the flight test community, Lancaster is located in the Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...

, near four flight test
Flight test
Flight test is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops and gathers data during flight of an aircraft and then analyzes the data to evaluate the flight characteristics of the aircraft and validate its design, including safety aspects...

 facilities: US Air Force Plant 42
Plant 42
Air Force Plant 42 is a federally owned military aerospace facility under the control of the Air Force Material Command in Palmdale, California...

, Edwards AFB, Mojave Spaceport
Mojave Spaceport
thumb|right|235px|A retired [[Boeing 767-200]] that flew for [[Ansett Australia]] being cut open for scrap at Mojave AirportThe Mojave Air and Space Port , also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of...

 and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
- About : is part of under Commander, Navy Installation Command and is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately north of Los Angeles. Occupying three counties – Kern, San Bernardino and Inyo – the installation’s closest neighbors are the cities of Ridgecrest,...

.

The walk of honor is located on Lancaster Boulevard between Sierra Highway to the east and 10th Street West, and is anchored by Boeing Plaza, which hosts a restored F-4 Phantom II
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...

 mounted on a pylon. Honorees are memorialized with granite monuments located along Lancaster Boulevard. Test pilots who receive awards are inducted annually, in late summer.

The Walk of Honor monuments and activities are funded by several aerospace companies, including Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

, Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

 and Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...

, all of which perform flight test operations in the Antelope Valley.

Inductees

(Alphabetical, with year of induction)
  • Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson
    Bud Anderson
    Clarence Emil "Bud" Anderson is a retired officer in the United States Air Force and a "triple ace" in World War II.-Biography:Anderson was born in Oakland, California, and reared on a farm near Newcastle, California...

    , 1993
  • Harry Andonian, 2009
  • Neil Armstrong
    Neil Armstrong
    Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....

    , 1991
  • Fred J. Ascani
    Fred Ascani
    Alfredo John Ascani was an American Major General and test pilot of the United States Air Force. He was one of the "Men of Mach 1" and was considered father of Systems Engineering at Wright Field.-Early years:...

    , MGen USAF, Retired, 2001
  • Frank T. Birk, 2001
  • Charles C. "Charlie" Bock, Jr., 1994
  • Albert Boyd
    Albert Boyd
    Albert Boyd was a pioneering test pilot for the United States Air Force. During his 30 year career, he logged over 23,000 hours of flight time, flying an astounding 723 military aircraft...

    , 1991
  • Irving L. Burrows, 2008
  • Robert L. Cardenas
    Robert Cardenas
    Robert L. "Bob" Cardenas is a retired Brigadier General of the United States Air Force.-Childhood and adolescence:He was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. When he was five, his family moved to San Diego, California. He excelled in Mathematics and Physics in high school...

    , 1995
  • Marion E. Carl
    Marion E. Carl
    Major General Marion Eugene Carl, USMC, was a World War II fighter ace, record setting test pilot, and a notable naval aviator. He was the first Marine Corps ace in World War II.-Early years:...

    , 1992
  • Henry E. "Hank" Chouteau, 1996
  • Jacqueline Cochran
    Jacqueline Cochran
    Jacqueline Cochran was a pioneer American aviator, considered to be one of the most gifted racing pilots of her generation...

    , 2006
  • Eileen Collins
    Eileen Collins
    Eileen Marie Collins is a retired American astronaut and a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel. A former military instructor and test pilot, Collins was the first female pilot and first female commander of a Space Shuttle. She was awarded several medals for her work. Col. Collins has logged 38 days 8...

    , 2008
  • Michael Collins
    Michael Collins (astronaut)
    Michael Collins is a former American astronaut and test pilot. Selected as part of the third group of fourteen astronauts in 1963, he flew in space twice. His first spaceflight was Gemini 10, in which he and command pilot John Young performed two rendezvous with different spacecraft and Collins...

    , 2008
  • Gordon Cooper
    Gordon Cooper
    Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. , also known as Gordon Cooper, was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot and NASA astronaut. Cooper was one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first manned space effort by the United States...

    , 2008
  • Robert Crippen
    Robert Crippen
    Robert Laurel Crippen is an engineer, retired United States Navy Captain and a former NASA astronaut. He flew on four Space Shuttle missions, including three as commander...

    , 2007
  • Albert Scott Crossfield
    Albert Scott Crossfield
    Albert Scott Crossfield was an American naval officer and test pilot.-Biography:Born in Berkeley, California, Crossfield grew up in California and Washington. He served with the U.S. Navy as a flight instructor and fighter pilot during World War II...

    , 1990
  • William H. Dana
    William H. Dana
    -Career:Dana was born in Pasadena, California, November 3, 1930, received his Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy in 1952 and served four years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force...

    , 1993
  • James H. Doolittle
    Jimmy Doolittle
    General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...

    , 1990
  • James D. Eastham, 2003
  • Glen W. Edwards
    Glen Edwards (pilot)
    Glen Edwards was a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force, and is the namesake of Edwards Air Force Base.Edwards was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, where he lived until 1931. At age 13, his parents moved the family to California, settling in Lincoln, northeast of Sacramento...

    , 1995
  • Joe H. Engle
    Joseph Henry Engle
    Joe Henry Engle is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut. He was married to the late Mary Catherine Lawrence of Mission Hills, Kansas and has two grown children and one stepchild. He is currently married to Jeanie Carter Engle of Houston, Texas...

    , 1992
  • Robert C. Ettinger, 2007
  • Mervin L. Evenson, Colonel, USAF, 2006
  • Frank Kendall Everest, Jr
    Frank Kendall Everest, Jr
    Brigadier General Frank Kendall "Pete" Everest Jr. was a U.S. Air Force officer who is best remembered as an aeroengineer and test pilot during the 1950s.-Early years:...

    , 1991
  • David L. "Ferg" Ferguson, 1998
  • Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton, Jr.
    Fitzhugh L. Fulton
    Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton Jr. is a retired civilian research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from August 1, 1966, until July 3, 1986, following 23 years of service as a pilot in the U.S...

    , 1991
  • John H. Griffith
    John H. Griffith
    John H. Griffith was a test pilot for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, one of the pilots of the Bell X-1.Griffith grew up in Homewood, Illinois. He joined the United States Army Air Corps in November 1941, and served in the South Pacific during World War II...

    , 2006
  • Fred W. Haise
    Fred Haise
    Fred Wallace Haise, Jr. is an engineer and former NASA astronaut. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Having flown on Apollo 13, Haise was to be the sixth human to walk on the Moon, but the mission did not land due to a failure aboard the spacecraft.-Early life and...

    , 1995
  • Robert A. "Bob" Hoover
    Bob Hoover
    Robert A. "Bob" Hoover is a former air show pilot and United States Air Force test pilot, known for his wide-brimmed straw hat and wide smile. In aviation circles, he is often referred to as "The pilots' pilot."-Aviation career:...

    , 1992
  • Jerauld R. "Jerry" Gentry
    Jerauld R. Gentry
    Jerauld Richard "Jerry" Gentry was a United States Air Force test pilot and Vietnam combat veteran. As chief USAF pilot of the Lifting Body Research Program, he helped validate the concept of flying a wingless vehicle back to Earth from space and landing it like an aircraft—an approach used...

    , 1993
  • Jesse P. "Jake" Jacobs, Jr., 1996
  • Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr.
    Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr.
    Iven Carl "Kinch" Kincheloe, Jr. was an American test pilot, recipient of the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross, and an ace in the Korean War.-Early life:...

    , 1992
  • William J. Knight
    William J. Knight
    William J. "Pete" Knight was a U.S. politician, combat pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. Knight holds the world's speed record for flight in a winged, powered aircraft...

    , 1990
  • Fred D. Knox, Jr., 2006
  • Tony LeVier
    Tony LeVier
    Anthony W. "Tony" LeVier was an air racer and test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation from the 1940s to the 1970s.- Early life :...

    , 1990
  • James McDivitt
    James McDivitt
    James Alton McDivitt is a former NASA astronaut and engineer who flew in the Gemini and Apollo programs. He commanded the Gemini 4 flight in which Edward H. White performed the first US space walk, and later the Apollo 9 flight which was the first manned Earth orbital test of the Apollo Lunar...

    , 2009
  • John B. "Jack" McKay
    John B. McKay
    John B. McKay was one of the first pilots assigned to the X-15 flight research program at NASA's Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. As a civilian research pilot and aeronautical engineer, he made 30 flights in X-15s from October 28, 1960, until September 8, 1966...

    , 1996
  • Arthur K. "Kit" Murray
    Arthur K. Murray
    Arthur Warren "Kit" Murray was a United States test pilot. He flew test flights on the Bell X-1 and the Bell X-5 aircraft.- Early life :Arthur Warren Murray was born to Charles C...

    , 1996
  • Lewis A. Nelson, 2007
  • William C. Park, 1995
  • Bruce Peterson
    Bruce Peterson
    Bruce Peterson was a test pilot for NASA.A native of Washburn, North Dakota, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles, and California Polytechnic State University...

    , 2003
  • Robert O. "Bob" Rahn, 1994
  • Jack L. Ridley
    Jack Ridley
    Jackie L. "Jack" Ridley was a colonel in the United States Air Force and a noted test pilot who worked with Chuck Yeager....

    , 1996
  • Robert A. "Bob" Rushworth
    Robert A. Rushworth
    Robert Aitken Rushworth was a United States Air Force test pilot for the North American X-15 program. Born in Madison, Maine on October 9, 1924. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Maine, receiving a BE in 1951. He received a BS in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force...

    , 1994
  • Herman Richard "Fish" Salmon
    Herman Salmon
    Herman R. Salmon , nicknamed "Fish", was a barnstormer, air racer, and test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation. He started work at Lockheed in 1940 ferrying Hudsons to Montreal for the Royal Air Force...

    , 1994
  • Joe Schiele, 2008
  • Edward T. Schneider, 2005
  • Max R. Stanley, 1993
  • Robert L. "Silver Fox" Stephens
    Robert L. Stephens
    Robert L. "Silver Fox" Stephens was an American United States Air Force test pilot who set several speed and altitude records while testing the Lockheed YF-12 and SR-71.-Early years:Robert L...

    , 1998
  • Emil Sturmthal, Colonel, USAF, 2006
  • Milton O. Thompson
    Milton O. Thompson
    Milton Orville Thompson was a NASA research pilot who was selected as an astronaut for the United States Air Force X-20 Dyna-Soar program in April 1960. After the Dyna-Soar program was cancelled on 10 December 1963, he remained a NASA research pilot, and went on to fly the X-15 rocket plane...

    , 1993
  • Guy M. Townsend
    Guy M. Townsend
    Guy Mannering Townsend III was a retired United States Air Force Brigadier General, test pilot, and combat veteran...

    , 1995
  • Charles Tucker, 2007
  • Joseph John "Tym" Tymczyszyn
    Joseph John "Tym" Tymczyszyn
    Joseph John "Tym" Tymczyszyn was an American Test Pilot for the United States Army Air Corps and the Federal Aviation Administration.-Early life:...

    , 2004
  • Joseph A. Walker
    Joseph A. Walker
    Joseph Albert "Joe" Walker was an American NASA test pilot, and member of the U.S. Air Force Man In Space Soonest program. In 1963, he made two X-15 Experimental rocket aircraft flights beyond the altitude of 100 kilometers - at the edge of outer space...

    , 1991
  • George Welch, 2007
  • Alvin S. "Al" White
    Alvin S. White
    Alvin Swauger White was an American test pilot, engineer, and a USAF astronaut. He flew the maiden flights of both XB-70 Valkyrie aircraft, the first 2,000 mph flight, and all subsequent Mach 3 flights.-Biography:...

    , 1994
  • Robert M. "Bob" White
    Robert M. White
    Major General Robert Michael "Bob" White was a military aircraft test pilot and a major general in the United States Air Force...

    , 1992
  • Chuck Yeager
    Chuck Yeager
    Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...

    , 1990
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