Lt Col B C Thomas

 

B. C. Thomas - High Time SR-71 Pilot with 1,217 hrs and 18 min

BC Thomas attended U.S. Air Force pilot training. He began his Air Force career flying the KC-135 tanker over Europe, Vietnam, and Thailand, and then flew the C-130 in Vietnam. Returning stateside, Thomas transitioned to the B-57 and RB-57F, and subsequently attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, Calif., where he flew the F-104, A-7, T-33, and T-38. From there he joined the U-2 test program, and in 1976 was assigned to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, Calif., to fly the SR-71. In 1984, Thomas was again assigned to Edwards to serve as an operational test pilot on the SR-71. He retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1988, and has the most time in the SR-71 (1,217.3 hours), and is the only pilot to have flown all three of the Air Force's high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft (the U-2, RB-57F, and the SR-71). 

Upon retirement he joined Northrop's B-2 test program as a civilian flight test engineer/pilot, where he served until joining United Air Lines at the end of 1989. He served as a test pilot for the airline flying its Boeing 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, and 777, as well as the Douglas DC-8 and DC-10.