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A graduate of West Point, Schalk joined the new branch of the U.S. military, the "Air Force". He graduated first in his class from the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where he worked under Chuck Yeager and flight-tested fighters. Later, as a test pilot for Lockheed's famous "Skunk Works", Schalk helped design the cockpit of the A-12 Blackbird, the prototype for the SR-71 high-altitude reconnaissance plane. On April 26, 1962, over Nevada, he was the first to take the A-12 on a flight. He got it up to over 90,000 feet and reached a top speed of 2,287 mph -- top secret information at the time. He died in Virginia on August 16 from leukemia and pneumonia. He was 76. From This is True for 18 August 2002 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Ben R. RichLeo Janos List Price: $15.99 Amazon Price: $10.87  By: Dennis R. Jenkins List Price: $19.95 Amazon Price: $13.57 Editorial Review: Since 1943, scores of remarkable military aircraft and aviation technologies have rolled out of Lockheed's top-secret Skunk Works program. This in-depth look at the famous research and design team's pioneering work reveals the nuts and bolts behind production and experimental aircraft, from the P-80 Shooting Star to today's X-35 Joint Strike Fighter prototype. While the emphasis is on high-profile products like the U-2 Dragon Lady, SR-71 Blackbird, C-130 Hercules, F-117 Nighthawk and F-22 Raptor, the book also examines Skunk Works projects that have yet to be covered in book form, including the Tier III Minus DarkStar unmanned air vehicle and the X-33 VentureStar orbiter. Mach speed product development: Inside the skunk works. (Manage).(Lockheed Ma... By: Christopher A. Sawyer List Price: $5.95 Amazon Price: $5.95 Editorial Review: This digital document is an article from Automotive Design & Production, published by Gardner Publications, Inc. on September 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1713 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Citation Details Title: Mach speed product development: Inside the skunk works. (Manage).(Lockheed Martin Aeronautic's Skunk Works product) Author: Christopher A. Sawyer Publication: Automotive Design & Production (Magazine/Journal) Date: September 1, 2001 Publisher: Gardner Publications, Inc. Volume: 113 Issue: 9 Page: 78(4) Distributed by Thomson Gale |
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