Louis W. Schalk graduated from West Point in 1948 and was commissioned in the Air Force. He was awarded his wings at Nellis AFB in 1949 and had flying assignments in the Air Force until June of 1957. His last four years in the Air Force were at Edwards AFB in flight test. He then joined Lockheed AC as an experimental test pilot. After test work on the F-104, he moved to Kelly Johnsons "Skunk Works" in 1959 as Chief Test Pilot for Advanced Development Programs.
He designed cockpits and interfaced with systems engineers for the A-12, YF-12 and SR-71 Blackbirds. He made the first thirteen flights on the A-12 commencing April 26, 1962. Later he made the first four flights exceeding Mach 3.0, the maximum being Mach 3.287 (2,287 mph). Test flights at times exceeded 90,000 feet.
For these achievements he received the Kincheloe Award as Test Pilot of the Year in 1964 from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots where he is a fellow and a lifetime member. He became an Eagle with the Edwards AFB Historical Museum in 1996 and was an Honoree on the Walk Of Honor in Lancaster California in 1999.
Schalk flew airplanes for fourteen years, ten of which were in experimental flight test. He logged over 5,000 hours in 70 different aircraft.
Today, 2001, he resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife Louise who submitted him as an honoree.