Nonskimmer
Captain
Wow. I can imagine.FLYBOYJ said:
A SALUTE TO AN OLD FRIEND
- Thread starter FLYBOYJ
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Pisis
2nd Lieutenant
S!
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- #23
FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
This was in the newspaper of my former hometown.....
Colonel Richard E. Lawyer, USAF Retired, passed away peacefully at his home in Palmdale, California, on November 12, 2005, at age 73. Born November 8, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, he was a graduate of the University of California where he played football and rugby and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. An active flying career that spanned more than fifty years began when he entered USAF pilot training in 1955. He first began flight-testing in 1958 when his fighter squadron was selected to conduct operational testing of the F-105B. He was Distinguished Graduate of USAF Fighter Weapons School and Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School where he was recipient of the Honts Award. Upon graduation from Test Pilot School, he was selected for Manned Orbiting Laboratory, the Air Force's only manned space flight program, which was cancelled prior to any manned flights. His Air Force career included two combat tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and serving as Chief of Fighters at Edwards AFB. Retiring from active duty in 1982, he returned to Edwards as Flight Test Manager for Martin Marietta's LANTIRN program, a night low-altitude system that subsequently achieved outstanding success in Desert Storm, the Bosnian conflict, and in the Iraq War. Following retirement from Martin Marietta, he served as an instructor at the National Test Pilot School prior to joining Flight Systems, Inc. As Supervisor of Flight Operations and Chief Test Pilot, he flew the first flight of the QF-4 and made the first successful launch of the powered version of the Joint Standoff Weapon. After retiring from Flight Systems in 1998, he continued to fly as an instructor at the National Test Pilot School and as self-employed consultant/test pilot. His many projects included required flight test following the complete restoration of the entire inventory of T-33's for the Bolivian Air Force; flight test following restoration of the only flying FJ-4B Fury; F-100 chase in support of flight test for SinoSwearingen's new SJ30-2 business jet; and most recently, flying the F-100 for Flight Test Associates in support of flight test of Northrup Grumman's Guardian airliner defense system. At the time of his death, he held FAA Experimental Type Ratings in all models of the F-100, the F-86/FJ-4, and the T-33 and was an FAA Authorized Instructor in those aircraft. His total flight experience exceeded 19400 hours in more than 40 different aircraft. He was a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a life member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association. An avid outdoorsman, he was an active hunter and angler his entire life. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Gayle and five children; sons, Tim Lawyer of San Luis Obispo, CA, and Dr. James Lawyer and wife Jeri of College Station, TX; and daughter Lisa Burr and husband Mark of Austin, TX; step-daughters Casey Hinds and husband Bruce of Lexington, KY, and Halya Mugglebee of Sherman Oaks, CA; a sister, Carol Young and husband Dave of Escondido, CA; a brother, Jack Lawyer and wife Marlene of Redlands, CA; nine grandchildren, Sam, Grace and Matthew Burr; Dalton, Austin, Tai and Miles Lawyer; and Katherine and Natalie Hinds. Dick's life will be celebrated at a memorial service on December 17, 2005, at 1 PM at the National Test Pilot School, Mojave, CA. Burial with full military honors will take place at 9 AM on January 5, 2006 at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. It was his request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Society of Experimental Test Pilots Scholarship Foundation or to the Air Warrior Courage Foundation of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association.
Colonel Richard E. Lawyer, USAF Retired, passed away peacefully at his home in Palmdale, California, on November 12, 2005, at age 73. Born November 8, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, he was a graduate of the University of California where he played football and rugby and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. An active flying career that spanned more than fifty years began when he entered USAF pilot training in 1955. He first began flight-testing in 1958 when his fighter squadron was selected to conduct operational testing of the F-105B. He was Distinguished Graduate of USAF Fighter Weapons School and Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School where he was recipient of the Honts Award. Upon graduation from Test Pilot School, he was selected for Manned Orbiting Laboratory, the Air Force's only manned space flight program, which was cancelled prior to any manned flights. His Air Force career included two combat tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and serving as Chief of Fighters at Edwards AFB. Retiring from active duty in 1982, he returned to Edwards as Flight Test Manager for Martin Marietta's LANTIRN program, a night low-altitude system that subsequently achieved outstanding success in Desert Storm, the Bosnian conflict, and in the Iraq War. Following retirement from Martin Marietta, he served as an instructor at the National Test Pilot School prior to joining Flight Systems, Inc. As Supervisor of Flight Operations and Chief Test Pilot, he flew the first flight of the QF-4 and made the first successful launch of the powered version of the Joint Standoff Weapon. After retiring from Flight Systems in 1998, he continued to fly as an instructor at the National Test Pilot School and as self-employed consultant/test pilot. His many projects included required flight test following the complete restoration of the entire inventory of T-33's for the Bolivian Air Force; flight test following restoration of the only flying FJ-4B Fury; F-100 chase in support of flight test for SinoSwearingen's new SJ30-2 business jet; and most recently, flying the F-100 for Flight Test Associates in support of flight test of Northrup Grumman's Guardian airliner defense system. At the time of his death, he held FAA Experimental Type Ratings in all models of the F-100, the F-86/FJ-4, and the T-33 and was an FAA Authorized Instructor in those aircraft. His total flight experience exceeded 19400 hours in more than 40 different aircraft. He was a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a life member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association. An avid outdoorsman, he was an active hunter and angler his entire life. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Gayle and five children; sons, Tim Lawyer of San Luis Obispo, CA, and Dr. James Lawyer and wife Jeri of College Station, TX; and daughter Lisa Burr and husband Mark of Austin, TX; step-daughters Casey Hinds and husband Bruce of Lexington, KY, and Halya Mugglebee of Sherman Oaks, CA; a sister, Carol Young and husband Dave of Escondido, CA; a brother, Jack Lawyer and wife Marlene of Redlands, CA; nine grandchildren, Sam, Grace and Matthew Burr; Dalton, Austin, Tai and Miles Lawyer; and Katherine and Natalie Hinds. Dick's life will be celebrated at a memorial service on December 17, 2005, at 1 PM at the National Test Pilot School, Mojave, CA. Burial with full military honors will take place at 9 AM on January 5, 2006 at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. It was his request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Society of Experimental Test Pilots Scholarship Foundation or to the Air Warrior Courage Foundation of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association.
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Sorry to hear about it again FBJ. Really does seem like he lived an amazinig life!
Nonskimmer
Captain
That's quite a thorough obituary. A nice little tribute.
Rest in peace, Dick.
Rest in peace, Dick.
