Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : City Will Add 5 Test Pilots to Its Aerospace Walk of Honor

LANCASTER —  Their names do not come to mind when thinking of aviation’s greatest, but their accomplishments rival those of even the most well-known fliers.

And next month their aviation successes will be displayed for posterity on Lancaster’s Aerospace Walk of Honor.

Lancaster officials on Thursday announced the names of the five test pilots who will be honored at the fourth annual Aerospace Walk of Honor celebration--Milt Thompson, William Dana, Max R. Stanley, Col. Gerald (Jerry) Gentry and Col. Clarence (Bud) Anderson.

The five honorees join 15 others, including astronaut Neil Armstrong and pilot Chuck Yeager, whose achievements have already been recognized by Lancaster.

“These guys did fantastic things,” said Lancaster Mayor Arnie Rodio.

Thompson, who died earlier this month, and Dana were two of just 12 pilots to fly the famed rocket-powered X-15. At the time of his death, Thompson was chief engineer of NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards Air Force Base, a position he had held since 1975. Dana is assistant chief of the flight operations division at Dryden.

Stanley was the pilot on the first flights of the F-15 as well as other Northrop planes, logging so many flight hours during his 28 years with the company that he became known as the dean of Northrop’s test pilots.

Gentry accumulated more than 4,500 flight hours in 50 different fighter, trainer, bomber and research aircraft before his 1985 retirement from the Air Force. A member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, Gentry is an aerospace industry consultant.

Anderson was a World War II fighter ace, piloting a P-51 Mustang and shooting down 16 enemy aircraft during two tours of duty. His 7,000 flight hours, racked up in 100 different types of aircraft, also include many hours testing military aircraft.

This will be the first year since the 1990 unveiling of the Aerospace Walk that additional granite monuments will not be added, said Lancaster spokeswoman Nancy Walker. Instead bronze plaques attached to the six-foot-tall monuments will be inscribed with the names and successes of the 1993 honorees.

Dana, Stanley, Gentry and Anderson are expected to attend the two-day Aerospace Walk of Honor celebration the weekend of Sept. 11-12, which concludes with the unveiling of their monument plaques. Family members will represent Thompson, who Walker said was notified of the honor shortly before his death.

A formal dinner, dance and awards ceremony is slated for Sept. 11 at the Antelope Valley Inn. Seating at the black-tie event is limited to 200 and tickets cost $50 each.

The unveiling of the plaques is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center.