Robert O. Rahn
Douglas Test Pilot Robert O. Rahn,
the
first pilot to fly the A-4 Skyhawk, the Ferrari of airplanes.
Test pilot Bob Rahn is pictured in the first A-4, XA4D-1
BuNo. 137812 shortly after the first Skyhawk flight on June 22, 1954.
(Harry Gann photo)
- Robert O. Rahn, first pilot to fly the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk,
passed away at age 77 on Thursday, May 21, 1998, a victim of ALS (Lou Gehrig disease).
- Around the Douglas Aircraft Company flight test department, Bob had the
reputation as being "a cool and thorough pilot." There were several
instances in the flight test programs of the AD Skyraider, the F4D
Skyray, and the A4D Skyhawk where his unflappable demeanor
during test flight emergencies literally saved the programs. Bob also
participated in the F3D Skyknight and F5D Skylancer flight test programs.
- Born in Harvey, Illinois, on December 29, 1920, Bob attended the
University of Cincinnati, intending to earn a degree in Aeronautical
Engineering. While there, he learned to fly in the Civilian Pilot
Training Program and, in early 1941, he enlisted in the United States
Army Air Corps and entered flight training. After graduating, he
became a member of the first United States fighter group to deploy to
England, where he flew the Spitfire with the 309 Fighter Squadron.
- After completing his overseas tour, Rahn returned to the U.S. and
wrangled an assignment to Wright Field to attend the United States Air
Force Test Pilots School. With World War II all but over, in August
1945 Bob accepted employment as a test pilot at Douglas Aircraft Company,
where he subsequently made first flights in 18 different
aircraft between 1946 and 1956. In 1957 he joined the Rockwell Company as
an Apollo Space Capsule simulator research pilot. Rahn retired from
the aircraft industry in 1984 to devote much of his time to skiing and
flying his Navion aircraft in speed enhancement and point to point
flight competition with other Navion owners.
- Among the group of World War II pilots who bridged the gap between
the "seat-of-the-pants" pilots and the engineer-scientist aviators that
now conduct aircraft flight tests, Bob Rahn accumulated many honors in his
flying career. He was inducted into the Navy Test Pilots Hall of Honor,
set a world speed record in the Douglas F4D Skyray, served as a
founding member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, was a charter
member of the Aviation Hall of Fame, and an original member of the Skyhawk
Association.
- Bob Rahn was characterized as "a pilot who knew what was going on,
able to tell the engineers what the problems were in their own terms."
|
