During World War II, at the age of 17, Robert J. Gilliland enlisted in the Navy. He was eventually accepted into the Naval Academy, graduating in 1949 with an engineering degree. Accepting an Air Force commission at graduation, he trained at Randolph Field, Texas, earning his wings in 1950. He completed advanced training at Chandler, Arizona, then was assigned to a fighter group flying the P-47 and the F-84. In 1952, Gilliland volunteered for a combat tour in Korea, flying the F-84 in a unit based at K-2 Airport, Daegu. In 1953, he was assigned to Ramstein AFB, Germany, flying the F-86F. Later that year he relocated to Eglin AFB, Florida as a test pilot. He left active military service the following year, returning to Memphis, where he joined the Tennessee Air National Guard. He flew the B-26, P-51, RF-80, RF-84, and the F-104A during his reserve service. In 1960 he joined Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a F-104 test pilot. In 1962, Gilliland went on to test the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever built, the A-11, A-12, YF-12A, and the SR-71 Blackbird. In 1964, he piloted the first flight of the first SR-71A. As the SR-71 program advanced, Gilliland continued to be the first pilot to fly each Blackbird as it became operational. He logged more flying time at Mach 2 and 3 than any other man. This flying time would only be exceeded later by a few operational pilots over the long-operating career of the Blackbird. The Society of Experimental Test Pilots awarded Gilliland the Iven C. Kincheloe Award in 1964 for his work on the Blackbird program. In 1998, he was named an Eagle by the Air Force Flight Test Historical Foundation, and was awarded the Aerospace Walk of Honor for his distinguished aviation career. He was inducted into the California Aviation Hall of Fame in 2015, and into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2017.
Inducted in 2019.
Portrait Location: Not Currently on Floor

Induction Video