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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mr. Michael Swan

Bob Swan has been in aviation all his life. He joined the Army Air Force in 1949 and as a Staff Sergeant at Naha AFB, Okinawa, was in charge of radar maintenance for all of the Twin Mustang F-82s, a night fighter.

Upon leaving the Air Force, he became a radar technician with Hughes Aircraft Co. on the first all-jet all-weather fighter, the F-94. He then volunteered for an assignment in Toronto, Canada for flight test of the Canadian fighter, the CF-100. While in Canada, he earned his private pilot's license from the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Bob continued on the cutting edge of avionics technology as supervisor for all three shifts conducting production flight testing of the Hughes MA-1-equiped F-106s in Palmdale, California. TMA-1 guidance and weapon system had the first digital airborne computer and first air-to-air guided missile, the Falcon.

Bob completed high altitude bailout school to support in-flight testing of the F-106. He later joined Litton to teach F-104 pilots how to take advantage of the first airborne inertial navigation system (INS). This took him all over the world teaching pilots of different countries navigation, fire control solutions and mission planning with the INS.

Bob returned to Hughes to teach F-14 pilots about the Tomcat's AWG-9 weapon system and its use with the Phoenix missile. He retired as the Field Engineering Test Program Logistical Support Manager on the most advanced air-to-air missile in the world, the AMRAAM.

Bob married his teenage love, Nita, raised five sons, and retired in Arizona. His life's work contributed to the success of military aviation.