Warbird Information Exchange

By Erik Simonsen and Mike Lombardi

The man who flew the tri-sonic XB-70 Valkyrie above 70,000 feet, North American Aviation (NAA) Chief Test Pilot, Alvin S. White, passed away Saturday, April 28, at the age of 87.

Al White began his aviation career in 1941, enlisting as an Aviation Cadet in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After flight training and two years as an advanced flight instructor he transferred to England in 1944. There he spent one and a half years flying combat missions in the P-51D Mustang as part of the 355th Fighter Group.

After World War II White received a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, and in 1948 he re-enlisted in the Air Force where he was assigned as project engineer in the development of parachutes as well as flight test pilot for a variety of aircraft. In 1951 he was admitted to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, Calif., and graduated first in his class. Continuing at Edwards, he flight tested the C-119G, F-80, F-86D, F-84F, F-94C and F-89D.

In May of 1954 White joined NAA as an engineering test pilot for all current NAA-produced aircraft, including the F-100 Super Sabre and YF-107 Ultra Sabre; he was also a backup pilot on the X-15 program. In January 1958 he was assigned the Project Pilot for the Mach 3+, XB-70 Valkyrie, and in February 1961 NAA appointed him Chief Test Pilot. White flew the Valkyrie for 67 flights, including the first flight on September 21, 1964, as well as the first sustained Mach 3 flight. On June 8, 1966, with White at the controls, the number two XB-70 was involved in a midair collision with a NF-104 during a photo flight – both planes were lost. The accident claimed the lives of NASA pilot Joe Walker, who was flying the NF-104, and the XB-70's co-pilot, USAF Maj. Carl Cross. Al White recovered from injuries suffered in the accident, but did not fly the Valkyrie again.

In December of 1966 White took a position with Trans World Airlines where he was rated to fly the 707 and managed TWA's flight operations, research and development. In 1969 he left TWA to become an aerospace consultant. During his career, White had flown 125 different types of aircraft and had amassed 8,500 hours in the cockpit.

In addition to being a past president and founding member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, among his many awards were the AIAA's 1965 Octave Chanute Award, the Iven C. Kincheloe Award, the 1967 Harmon International Trophy presented by President Lyndon Johnson, and he was one of the few civilians awarded the USAF Air Medal. White once stated, “I feel qualified to say that the company made great airplanes, and that anyone who worked for NAA in any capacity should be very proud that they contributed to the design and production of some of the finest airplanes in the world.”

Al White helped me a bunch when I first started flying the Mustang way back when. I was uncertain about its spin characteristics and he provided much information and background. He was most helpful and receptive to my several inquries. I was surprised he knew so much about Mustang spins when most of his fame was from the XB-70.
God Speed.
VL

Vlado,

Can you relate those Mustang spin characteristics information to some of us wannabe Mustang pilots?

Thanks,

BK

Sure. Basically how much muscle is needed to stay in and to recover from a spin. How predictable Mustang spins can be. And forward CG effects on civilian Mustangs enhance spin recovery.

Al White was quite a man an pilot. He was one of my father's best fiends and flew his wing many times in WWII.

What a lot of people don't know about Al White is that he attempted a 'Piggy Back Rescue' of Henry Brown (then leading active combined air/ground ace in ETO) and Chuck Lenfest (ace and 354FS Ops officer when my father was CO).

On October 3, 1944 Brown was shot down by flak over Nordligen A/D after destroying his last a/c on the ground and Lenfest landed in my father's Mustang 44-14409 WR-B Jane III to rescue Brown - only to get stuck in mud taxiing to get a take off position while Brown ran to the 51.

Al White landed closeby, intending to give his ship up to Lenfest and Brown (my father had been rescued by Deacon Priest on August 18, 1944 after being shot down by flak in Lenfest's WR-F, for the first Piggy Back Rescue in USAAF) for them to fly back and let him take his chances trying to escape.

Neither Brown nor Lenfest saw WRS turning at the far end of the field and they took off runniing, only to be captured shortly thereafter. White took off and returned to base.

In addition to all the accolades you mentioned he recovered from a near fatal back break in the B-70 pod because he bailed out too low - trying to stay with the B-70 and help his co-pilot release the jam in his ejection pod.

He was always a key consultant on strange crashes like TWA 800 out of NY. Fine man and gentleman and a wonderful pilot.

RIP Al

Bill Marshall