James D. Eastham, experimental test pilot, was born June 18, 1924, in El Dorado, KS. A pilot with the Army Air Corp during WW II, he also flew fighter missions during the Korean Conflict and served in the Air Force reserves.

 

Attending flight training and instructional schools, both civilian and military, he later graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1955.

 

Eastham tested the world’s first three Mach 3-plus aircraft: the A-12, YF-12A, and SR-71 Blackbird. He also wrote the flight manual on the SR-71.

As a test pilot for Hughes Aircraft, he worked on the Falcon Missile project. He flew on 800 missions and fired a record 350 missiles. He was also the B-58 test pilot B-58 test pilot, developing the ASG-18 radar system.

 

He helped in perfecting techniques used in setting official world speed records. Logging 10,000 hours of flight time, he is the recipient of the Ivan Kincheloe award and the Blackbird Laurels Medallion. He also has been inducted into the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame and the Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, CA.