Retired USAF LtCol Norman "Ken" Dyson has passed at 81. Dyson flew combat in the Vietnam War in both the F-100 Super Sabre as well as the F-4 Phantom. After the war, he transferred to the flight test world and worked on testing programs for the F-4. In the early 1970s, he became one of the lead test pilots for the F-15 Eagle program. But Dyson is best known for his work in the late 1970s with the developmental, and still mostly classified, Have Blue and Tacit Blue programs, which were precursors to the Senior Trend/F-117 program and the B-2 Spirit program, respectively. In Have Blue, Dyson was one of two pilots in the program. Of the two Have Blue aircraft produced, both were lost in fliht test accidents, with Dyson having to bail out of the second one following an airborne flight control malfunction. Following his classified work in this program, which he could not be recognized for the achievement for many years afterward, Dyson retired from the USAF and went to eork for Rockell aircraft as a test pilot for the B-1 Lancer bomber program. Dyson has received many high level awards and achievements for his work in both the white, as well as the black, test worlds. These are in addition to his combat awards from Vietnam that include the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Had the honor of being able to have heard him speak on some of the hush programs. What an amazing time to have been involved with the infancy of stealth.
www.airforcemag.com
Had the honor of being able to have heard him speak on some of the hush programs. What an amazing time to have been involved with the infancy of stealth.
Norman “Ken” Dyson, 1938-2019 - Air Force Magazine
Norman "Ken" Dyson, shown at top left, was most well-known for his work on experimental stealth aircraft, such as "Tacit Blue," also shown here. Texas A&M University and Air Force photos/staff illustration by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory. Norman “Ken” Dyson, an Air...
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