General Robert Hails soloed a Piper Cub at age 16 and was licensed at age 18. He joined the Army Air Corps in December 1942 and became an aviation cadet. He was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant and received his pilot wings in May 1944. He served with the 13th Air Force in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater from March to October 1945. With the 5th Bombardment Group, he flew 26 missions totaling 276 combat hours as a B-24 Aircraft Commander. On his last six missions, he flew as Squadron Lead. With over 6000 hours as pilot, he has flown 44 different aircraft including the Mach 3, SR-71 Blackbird.

Hails was born in Miami, Fla., in 1923. He graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Ala. in 1941. He earned a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from Auburn University in 1947, an MS in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University in 1950, and completed the AMP of the Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1965.

As Director of the USAF A-7D Aircraft Development in 1966, Hails introduced the first Heads Up Display (HUD) to a US military aircraft. His HUD technology was included in all following military aircraft. Hails retired as US Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff in 1977. In 2001, he was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame and the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.