NEVADA AEROSPACE HALL OF FAME

Declaration of Enshrinement

October 10, 2017

Louis Wellington “Lou” Schalk Jr.

Schalk designed the cockpit and interfaced with the systems engineers on the A-12, YF-12, and SR-71 Blackbird before making the first thirteen flights on the A-12.

On 26 April 1962, Lockheed test pilot Louis Schalk made aviation history when he became the first to fly America’s first stealth aircraft, the CIA’s A-12 Mach 3 reconnaissance plane.

He continued with many additional A-12 flights at Groom Lake, Nevada, under the watchful eye of the CIA A-12 OXCART program. He made the several flights exceeding Mach 3.0 and at altitudes sometimes exceeding 90,000 feet.

In the extremely hazardous world of test pilots, Schalk’s achievements reflected directly on the success of the A-12 and SR-71 operational missions that followed. His efforts help perfect the photo and electronic intelligence collected by the Blackbirds. Louis Schalk flew over 70 different aircraft and accumulated over 5,000 hours of flight time.

For his making aviation history as the first to fly the CIA’s A-12 Mach 3 reconnaissance plane, Louis Wellington “Lou” Schalk Jr. .  has earned his place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame.

T.D. BARNES, Executive Director

Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame