Page 3 - Aerotech News and Review, Oct. 18, 2019

The 2019 Eagle Honorees
Frank T. Birk
Col. Frank T. Birk’s career as a combat and test pilot began with two tours
After retirement from the Air Force, he joined Rockwell International as
(Posthumous) as a Raven Forward Air Controller in Southeast Asia, where he flew more than a senior test pilot and immediately began work testing a prototype jet trainer
800 combat missions in the O-1, O-2, OV-10, UT-17 and T-28. under development for the Air Force and the Navy. In late July 1993, during a
He served as a C-141 instructor pilot before graduating from the USAF Test high-speed, low-level stability test north of Munich, Germany, he was forced
Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in 1976. to eject and died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
He later served as a test pilot for the 6512th Test Squadron at Edwards, B-1A Birk graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1968. Over the course
Test Program director of flight operations, B-1B Combed Test Force director of his career, he earned master’s degrees in mechanical engineering, systems
of flight test/chief test pilot for three different joint NASA/U.S. Air Force F-11 management, and national security and strategic studies. In his 25 years as a
experimental programs, chief of the B-1B Divisions at Strategic Command pilot, he logged more than 7,200 hours in 65 aircraft, including more than 1,100
Headquarters, commander of the 412th Test Group, and director of the B-2
Combined Test Force at Edwards. hours of experimental flight test. He is a recipient of the Gen. Robert M. Bond
Birk assumed command of the B-2 CTF in early 1990, and first flew the Memorial Aviation Award, and was honored by the Society of Experimental
bomber in May of that year. He went on to fly many key developmental sorties Test Pilots with their Ray E. Tenhoff Ward in 1986. His decorations include two
in the high-risk early days of Engineering and Manufacturing Development. He Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Aerial Achievement Medals, 27 Air Medals,
also flew the first transcontinental flight of the B-2 for congressional inspection two Silver Stars and the Purple Heart. He was also awarded the Laotian Order
during Stealth Week in June 1991. On April 23, 1993, he was traditionally “wet- of Elephants by the King of Laos, that country’s highest honor.
ted down” after his final test flights in the B-2 and F-16. At the time of his re- Birk is survived by his wife, Connie, their three children, John, Margaret and
tirement, Birk was the most highly decorated Air Force member on active duty. Catherine, and four grandchildren.
Bill “Flaps” Weapon Systems Operator on the B-2 bomber. release of unguided stores the B-2 could meet required delivery accuracy specifica-
Bill Flanagan was employed by the Northrop Grumman Corporation as a flight test
tions, scoring a direct hit on a bus target from stratospheric altitudes.
Flanagan School at Edwards. He has more than 4,000 flying hours with almost 500 hours in the aircraft as well as range assets for the six-hour test missions. In addition, he sup-
A retired U.S. Air Force navigator, he is a 1976 graduate of the USAF Test Pilot
“Flaps” also performed as test director insuring mission flow of tankers and chase
B-2, and has been mission qualified in the F-4, F-11, SR-71, T-38 and C-135 aircraft ported laboratory test mission simulations used to train the crews and engineers prior
as well. He flew 169 combat missions in the RF-4C Phantom in Southeast Asia. He to flight. He developed an informal training syllabus to ensure that new test crews
has a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of were rapidly brought up to speed on recent modifications, increasing test efficiency
Virginia, and a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering (air armament) on flight missions.
form the Air Force Institute of Technology. Flaps’ work developing improvements to the human-machine interface of the two-
While working for Northrop Grumman, Flanagan served as an airborne test con- person flight deck left indelible impressions that remain today in B-2 systems and
ductor, planner and navigator on the Avionics Flying Test Bed, a converted C-135 effectiveness. During one period of intense dedicated focus, he was responsible for
serving as an aircraft platform for development of the B-2 bomber navigation system
and radar. He flew as a navigator on the flight deck of the AFTB serving also as a link taking one system from “the worst system ever from a pilot standpoint” to “the best
to the engineers providing key inputs to the development of those systems as well as system ever.”
important preparation for later test in the B-2. He worked with test pilots as well as operational B-2 pilots on integrating Link 16
Flanagan first flew the B-2 in 1990 becoming Spirit 14, the 14th aircrew to fly the data link terminal and a new Center Instrument Display into the B-2 avionics systems,
aircraft, as well as the first non-pilot to fly a Northrop Flying Wing. Ship 3 was the first enhancing the offensive and defensive capabilities of the aircraft without flooding the
B-2 with all-up functional systems including radar, navigation and bombing systems. cockpit with confusing data. Flanagan retired from Northrop Grumman in 2007 after
Flanagan went on to serve as a test crewmember on B-2 missions developing the 20 years as a flight test WSO on the B-2, with more than nine years and almost 500
numerous radar modes of the B-2 radar as well as numerous bomb deliveries. He per- flight hours flying the B-2.
formed the initial weapons release on nuclear weapons shapes, as well as conventional Flanagan lives, with his wife Toni, in Littlerock, Calif., from where he continues
weapons including the initial B-2 release of the 5,000-plun d GPS-guided weapon. to support the Air Force Flight Test Museum and the aerospace community as a
He demonstrated that using the aircraft radar for self-initiated, high-altitude weapons volunteer in museum and local STEM activities.
Anthony A. raised in New York City – he attended aviation high school, receiving an A&P showcasing the B-2s awesome capabilities to many high-level officials includ-
Anthony A. “Tony” Imondi is originally from Providence, R.I., and was
ing Congress, and the Secretary of Defense.
“Tony” Imondi mechanics license at age 18. After attending War College and a tour at the Pentagon, Imondi, by then a
He worked himself through college as an aircraft mechanic, while learning to
fly as well. Imondi entered the U.S. Air Force in 1976, being commissioned as colonel, returned to Whiteman as the Operations Group commander in 1998.
By this time, Whiteman had a fleet of eight Block 30 aircraft, and 50 combat
second lieutenant through Officer Training School in San Antonio, Texas. He pilots. When the “Call to War” came in March 1999, the wing was more than
went on to pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz., flew B-52s at Barks-
dale AFB, La., then FB-111s at Plattsburgh AFB, N.Y., and Pease AFB, N.H. ready. The B-2s combat debut in Operation Allied Force – in the skies over
In 1987, he was hand-picked to join the B-2 Operational Test and Evalua- Kosovo – was a huge success.
tion Team at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. As the Strategic Air Command B-2 Spirit bombers flew long-duration sorties from the Continental United
and non-test pilot member of the team, he became the voice of the warfighter. States, delivering more than 650 precision weapons with greater than 90 per-
Imondi made significant contributions to the test effort leading to improve- cent accuracy, over a 78-day constant war effort. The B-2 became the star
ments in many operational areas, including: Cockpit design, Autopilot inte- of the war effort due to its robust design, inherent survivability and proven
gration, Weapons delivery, Flight Control development, as well as Controls lethality. An ambitious and comprehensive flight test program directly resulted
and Displays. in combat effectiveness.
Imondi was part of the B-2 rollout ceremony in 1988, and the historic first In all, Imondi spent 13 years on the B-2 program in positions of various
flight in July 1989. In September 1991, he became the 13th pilot, first SAC involvement and responsibility. It’s a rare occurrence that one person could
pilot, and first non-TPS graduate to fly the B-2 Spirit. Lieutenant Colonel influence the design, take a new aircraft operational, and then be in the driver’s
Imondi went on to lead the operational test team in completing all of the
critical Block 10 OT&E test sorties, before taking the “Spirit of Missouri” to seat to lead the team into its first combat venture, and during that journey,
operational status with the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Imondi left indelible impressions on the airplane’s crew interfaces, her effec-
Mo., in December 1993. tiveness and the war fighting team that took her to war that still resonates today.
As SAC’s first instructor pilot, Imondi trained and evaluated all the initial Imondi retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2006 as a colonel, after 30 years of
cadre of pilots at Whiteman, and was instrumental in the successful integra- service, and has been working at Northrop Grumman ever since. He is currently
tion of the B-2 into the U.S. Air Force bomber fleet. He spent numerous hours applying his expertise supporting a critical restricted Air Force program.
Thomas J. Reserve Officer Training Corps at the Illinois Institute of Technology with a bach- Force. As a TPS graduate team member, he was able to take part in the pre-first
Second Lt. Thomas J. LeBeau entered the U.S. Air Force through the Air Force
flight development of the B-2, including CALSPAN Total In-Flight Simulation
LeBeau elor’s of science degree. He later received a master’s of science degree from Stan- aircraft approach and landing tests, aircraft flying quality and display, and workload
ford University.
evaluations in the simulator and B-2 operational potential assessments as well as
LeBeau, by then a major, was a 1976B graduate from the USAF Test Pilot School NC-135A Avionic Flying Test Bed activity.
at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Following TPS, he joined test operations as a LeBeau supported initial, as well as later, flight test as an F-16 chase pilot. He
B-52 test pilot, supporting air-launched cruise missile and KC-10 testing, as well became Spirit 5, the fifth test pilot to fly the ATB with his first flight in the B-2 on
as other flight test activities. May 3, 1990, which was the 10th flight of Air Vehicle-1, and the first in the program
In 1984, and now a lieutenant colonel, LeBeau was assigned to the 4200th Test with an all-Air Force crew.
and Evaluation Squadron at Edwards as the initial B-2 Operational Test and Eval- This flight test work included flight control and flutter envelope expansion sor-
uation test director, when he was briefed to the nascent Advanced Technology ties (notable as he was the only TPS graduate member of the OT&E group in the
Bomber. He had experience in operation B-52 and B-52 flight test and was selected
by Strategic Air Command to form the OT&E team part of the Combined Test See EAGLES, Page 4
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