Capt. Christopher T. 'Boomer' Wilson

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center holds a display in Captain Wilsons' honor in front of the Navy F-14 exhibit. The eldest of four, Boomer was born in New York City on Dec 2, 1942. He enjoyed a happy childhood in both Richmond, Virginia., and Los Altos, California. He went to high school at Exeter Academy in New Hampshire before attending the University of California, Berkeley where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Boomer joined the Navy in 1965 to serve his country during the height of the Vietnam War. He began his naval career at Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida. After earning his “Wings of Gold” at NAS Kingsville, Texas, he was trained in the “last of the gunfighters,” the F-8 Crusader, at NAS Miramar. He joined VF-211 for two successful deployments, logging more than 150 combat missions over the skies of Vietnam and Laos. He was one of the first to introduce the F-14 Tomcat to the fleet, and was a lead force in the ACEVAL/AIMVAL joint missile and tactics test at Nellis AFB, Nevada. He would go on to command Fighter Squadron TWO (1980-1982), and was selected to lead the Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as Top Gun (1982-1984). Boomer is credited with being the inspiration for Tom Skerritt’s “Viper” character in the movie Top Gun, having command of the Navy Fighter Weapons School during the writing of the screenplay. He used cutting edge maneuvers while teaching them to his students and instructors at Top Gun. All while winning nearly all of his dogfights. His leadership continued with command at Carrier Air Wing Reserve THIRTY (1984-1986) and Carrier Air Wing TWO (1988-1990) onboard USS Ranger (CV-61) before stepping out of the cockpit for the final time. He wrapped up his amazing naval career as deputy director, General Plans and Programs Division, and then as the director of Aviation Officer Distribution. The highly decorated 28-year veteran was a member of the “Grand Club” with more than 1,000 aircraft carrier landings and accumulated more than 5,400 flight hours in 30 aircraft types. His prowess and influence earned him entrance into “The Golden Eagles,” the early and pioneer naval aviators association. Boomer LOVED the Navy and was a tremendous leader, and teacher. He expected excellence. His aggressive cockpit performance earned him the respect of his fellow pilots and comrades. He never compromised his values. His positive outlook and great sense of humor helped him through many of life challenges. His laugh was infectious. After retiring from the Navy, Boomer assisted in the start-up of a small business providing support for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology, and closed out his civilian career as director of Air Training Range Business Development for the Cubic Corporation in San Diego, California. Despite all of his career accomplishments, Boomer’s family and friends are the greatest measure of his success. He lived in San Diego County the majority of his adult life until 1998 when he and his wife Tere built their dream retirement home in Hope, Idaho, overlooking beautiful Lake Pend O'reille. They split their time between Carlsbad, CA and Hope from 1998-2010. There, he enjoyed hosting a never-ending stream of family and friends on “Boomer’s Landing”. In recent years, Boomer founded the volunteer program at the Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center near Sandpoint, Idaho, where “Docent One” was a regular fixture. Some of his uniform items are on display at the Museum.