Message posted by Peter Merlin on April 30, 2012 at 8:23:40 PST:
April 30, 2012 is the 50th anniversary of the customer’s official first flight of the A-12. Lockheed test pilot Lou Schalk had already become airborne briefly in Article 121 during a high-speed taxi run on April 25, and again on a planned 30 minute flight on April 26. Representatives of the CIA and other special guests were then invited to Area 51 to witness the "first flight" on April 30. This time, Schalk was airborne for 59 minutes, attaining a top speed of 340 knots and a peak altitude of 30,000 feet. After conducting stability and control checks, he declared that the A-12 responded well in all flight regimes. Prior to landing, he made a low pass over the old U-2 runway for the benefit of the VIP observers. Following the flight, Schalk was congratulated by FAA chief Najeeb Halaby, former CIA Deputy Director for Plans Richard M. Bissell Jr., Lockheed chairman Courtlandt Gross, and NRO director Joseph Charyk. Kelly Johnson later described the event as the smoothest first flight in his experience. Not surprising since the airplane already had two previous “first” flights in which to work the bugs out.
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