Jerauld Richard "Jerry" Gentry (May 16, 1935 – March 3, 2003) was a United States Air Force (USAF) test pilot and Vietnam combat veteran. As chief USAF pilot of the Lifting Body Research Program, he helped validate the concept of flying a wingless vehicle back to Earth from space and landing it like an aircraft—an approach used by the Space Shuttle and to a greater degree by vehicles such as the Lockheed Martin X-33 and NASA X-38. Gentry completed thirty lifting body flights including the first flight of the Martin-Marietta X-24A and the second flight of the Northrop HL-10.
Gentry was the project pilot on a series of F-4E spin susceptibility and prevention tests with Burt Rutan as a project engineer.[5] The spin test program culminated in a report[6] and a training film, Unload for Control, that was presented to F-4 aircrews.[7]
Lifting body test pilot
Gentry's most notable contributions to flight tests occurred when he was assigned to the lifting body research program in 1965. The lifting body program, operated jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Air Force, performed the initial manned tests to evaluate the feasibility of landing a wingless spacecraft on a pre-determined runway.[1] Gentry was the eighth pilot assigned to the lifting body program and made his first air-towed flight in the NASA M2-F1 on July 16, 1965.[8] He transitioned to the heavyweight Northrop M2-F2 lifting body which he first flew on October 12, 1966, in an unpowered mission air-dropped from a B-52 Stratofortress.[9] By May 1967, he had made five unpowered flights in the M2-F2 to define the vehicle's aerodynamic characteristics in preparation for upcoming rocket-powered supersonic flights.[10] M2-F2 testing ended prematurely when the vehicle crashed on May 10, 1967, severely injuring fellow lifting body test pilot, Bruce Peterson.[11]
Gentry transitioned to another heavyweight lifting body, the Northrop HL-10, and made the second flight of this vehicle on March 15, 1968. The HL-10 had just returned to flying status after nearly sixteen months of modifications to correct handling deficiencies.[12] Gentry confirmed that the modifications were successful and reestablished confidence in the HL-10.[13] On October 23, 1968, Gentry attempted the first powered flight in the HL-10. However, the rocket engine failed shortly after launch resulting in an emergency landing on Rosamond Dry Lake.[14]
On April 17, 1969, Gentry flew the first, unpowered, glide-flight of the Martin-Marietta X-24A—a short teardrop shaped lifting body.[14] After several additional unpowered flights, preparations began for the powered flight using an LR-11 rocket engine. Gentry flew the first powered flight of the X-24A on March 19, 1970, reaching a speed of Mach 0.87.[15] In June 1970, the Northrop M2-F3 became available for testing. The M2-F3, the last of the heavyweight lifting bodies used in the program, was built from the wreckage of the M2-F2 and modified with an additional third vertical fin to improve handling characteristics.[16] Gentry made his 30th and final lifting body flight in the M2-F3 on February 9, 1971.[17] He was the only lifting body pilot to fly five different vehicles in the program.[18]
While working on the lifting body program, Gentry earned a master's degree in aerospace systems management from the University of Southern California.[2]
After returning to the United States, Gentry held a leadership role in the Air Force's Lightweight Fighter program that produced the F-16 Fighting Falcon. He also served as an aerial combat commander at the Red Flag tactical training exercises at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.[2] On August 11, 1980, Gentry was named commander of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.[20] Under his command the 388th TFW was the first to transition into the F-16.[2] In 1983, Gentry was assigned to the office of research, development and acquisitions at the headquarters for the United States Air Force.[1] He retired from active duty in 1985.[2]
Gentry died on March 3, 2003, in Alexandria, Virginia after several months of illness. A funeral was held on April 9, 2003, at the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer followed by burial at Arlington National Cemetery.[21] He was survived by his wife, Anne, two sons, and several grandchildren.[1]
For his work on the HL-10, Gentry was awarded the 1968 Harmon Aviator's Trophy for outstanding contribution to the science of flying.[22] In 1969, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots presented Gentry with the Iven C. Kincheloe Award for his work on the NASA/Flight Research Center (FRC) Lifting Body Program.[23][24] In 1970, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics presented Gentry with the Octave Chanute Award presented for an outstanding contribution made by a pilot or test personnel to the advancement of the art, science, and technology of aeronautics.[25]
In 1987, Science Museum Oklahoma honored Gentry with membership in the Oklahoma Air and Space Hall of Fame. In 1993, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, California that honors test pilots who have contributed to aviation and space research and development.[4]
^(1994) USAF Test Pilot School 50 Years and Beyond, p. 84
^ ab"1993 Honorees". Aerospace Walk of Honor. City of Lancaster, California. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
^"Octave Chanute Award, 1970". Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
^"Waverly tour set September 21". Enid News & Eagle. Enid, Oklahoma: Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. September 14, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
References
"Col. 'Jerry' Gentry, 67". The Washington Post. Washington, D. C. March 9, 2003. p. C.10. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
Hamel, Colonel William S. (June–July 2007). "The Class of 1957 Celebrates 50th Anniversary". Shipmate. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Academy Alumni Association. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 25, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
Rutan, Burt (1970). "Fighter Testing – Spin Test or Spin Prevention Test?". Proceedings of the 14th Annual SETP Symposium. Lancaster, California: Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
USAF Test Pilot School: 50 Years and Beyond. Privately Published. 1994.
External links
"A Class History"(PDF). United States Naval Academy Class of 1957. p. 18. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 19, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
Jerauld R. Gentry, ArlingtonCemetery.net, 13 March 2023, an unofficial website
Luther, Dr. Craig W. (September 2007). "X-Planes at Edwards AFB"(PDF). Air Force Flight Test Center History Office. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 15, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2015. Archived October 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
"Marriages, Births, & Deaths". USC Trojan Family Magazine. University of Southern California. Autumn 2003. Archived from the original on November 28, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2009.