The tenth annual Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame Enshrinement Banquet and Ceremony, with Chris “CJ” Hays the emcee, indeed was the Oscars of Nevada Aviation. Held at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas the Friday evening of November 15, 2019, the NVAHOF enshrined retired USAF Lt/Col Tony Bevacqua, who piloted both the U-2 and the SR-71 and was the youngest pilot ever to check out in the U-2. Also enshrined posthumously were CIA U-2 pilots Francis Gary Powers and Marty Knutson along with 14 who perished in a C-54 crash on Mt. Charleston, Nevada in 1955 while en route to Watertown, now known as Area 51, for the second flight of the CIA’s U-2 reconnaissance plane. Attending were past enshrinees Col Gail Peck (2013) and CMSG Dick Sinclair (2018).
Attending the four-day chain of NVAHOF events starting November 14 were family members and friends supporting Bevacqua, Powers, and Knutson. The NVAHOF was honored by the presence of two sons of U-2 pilots who’d paid the ulitimate sacrifice in their service to our country — Jim Rose, son of Wilburn Rose who died in a U-2 crash at Area 51 and Francis Gary Powers, Jr., whose dad was shot down in a U-2 overflying Russia and later killed in a helicopter crash in California. The family members of two of the 14 who perished in the C-54 crash also attended, along with several past and active pilots from Laughlin AFB, Texas, Beale AFB, California, Edwards AFB, California, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. Major General Pat Halloran, who flew with Bevacqua in both the U-2 and the SR-71, attended also.
Several from the Central Intelligence Agency, as they have for almost all NVAHOF enshrinement events, attended the four-day events in support of the NVAHOF, who has nearly every year recognized one or more former employees of the Agency. Dr. David Robarge, Chief Historian at the CIA, and James Dorrell – Vice President Tactical Systems at the Lockheed Skunk Works in Palmdale, California both spoke at the banquet. CIA’s Pierre Brown, the owner of the Hagar Watch Company, honored both Enshrinee Tony Bevacqua and the NVAHOF Director, TD Barnes, with its limited-edition U-2 Dragonlady watch along with a CIA coin and Dragonlady patch.
The Gold Coast Hotel and Casino provided NVAHOF with a hospitality suite for four days. The Lockheed Skunkworks, Lane Swainston’s Swainston’s Consulting Group, BomberPatches.com, along with various individual attendees donated to the non-profit NVAHOF. The Rampart Hotel comped many of the attendees in its fabulous buffet, and Ceasar’s Entertainment comped ten attendees at the world-renowned BLT Steak House at Bally’s.
The Warfare Center at Nellis hosted NVAHOF Director TD Barnes, MGen Pat Halloran, Lt Col Tony Bevacqua, Lockheed’s James Dorrell, CIA’s Dr. Robarge, and wives in the Distinguished Visitors chalet. Aviation Nation provided NVAHOF with a tent on the flight line of the Nellis AFB air show where UK author, Chris Pocock and Col Gail Peck did book signings, and NVAHOF Communications Director Connie May and others conducted PR for NVAHOF.
On Sunday, the 64th anniversary of the C-54 crash, a large number of NVAHOF staff, attendees, and CIA personnel joined the Silent Heroes of the Cold War Committee at the Silent Heroes Monument at the Spring Mountain Visitor’s Center. Committee chairman Steve Ririe did a great job of recounting the crash. Two families of those who perished were present for all the events and were joined by Cheryl Moore, JoAnne Campbell, and Dr. David Robarge from the CIA for an emotional remembrance on Sunday, the 64th anniversary of the 1955 crash. The families learned that various CIA representatives had attended all the development events starting with the groundbreaking, a cold day where the CIA store provided 18 jackets to those attending. The family members learned that the CIA still cared enough that Dr. Robarge and others had often visited the monument on their own.
Also, on Saturday night at the hospitality suite, UK U-2 author Chris Pocock presented an most interesting video about the U-2 Black Cats, and on Sunday, Francis Gary Powers, Jr., spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at the National Atomic Testing Museum about his dad’s shootdown over Russia.
Kudos go to all who contributed the photos in this gallery — Dave Budd and Joe Kates with https://www.photorecon.net/, Angella Raisian with F-22 Systems Engineering, LMAero – Edwards Air Force Base, Ret MSGT Jimmy Stewart, NVAHOF Communications Director and SW Airlines employee Connie May, Jim Barfield, and others.
NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
NVAHOF membership is open to any individual or organization, public or private, interested in preserving the history of aerospace in Nevada.
NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Join our past donors in our making it possible to continue our mission of educating the public regarding the history of aviation in Nevada, the contribution of Nevada citizens to the development of global aviation and to preserve the legacy of those men and women who pioneered and advanced our nation’s aerospace programs within the State of Nevada.
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If you have questions about supporting NVAHOF, you may call the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame Director at (702) 566-4168 or via e-mail at tdbarnes@nvahof.org.
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Individual Membership Levels:
Lifetime Adult: $500.00
Annual Family: $60.00
(No limit on the number of persons as long as in the same household)
Annual Adult: $35.00
Annual Student, Military, Senior (62+): $25.00
The Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the Class of 2019.
Celebrate with us as we honor those who greatly served and contributed to the U-2 “Dragonlady’ program.
This high altitude reconnaissance aircraft was tested right in the desert of our great Silver State.
The U-2 – an integral part our national security. Visit www.nvahof.org for details and full bios of our enshrinees.
Warm Regards,
November 15, 2019 – Hospitality Suite 10:00 AM hours to 3:00 PM 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM Banquet and Ceremony November 16, 2019 – Visit the Silent Heroes of the Cold War Memorial on Mount Charleston. (Optional) November 16 and 17, 2019 – Spend the day at the Aviation Nation Air Show at Nellis AFB (Optional)
Forty-Nine Enshrined and Many More to Come
Enshrinee Class of 2019 to be announced in January 2019
SPANNING NEVADA’S UNIQUE AVIATION HISTORY FROM BARN STORMERS TO ASTRONAUTS
Civil Air Patrol Cadets learning of the CIA’s role in aviation at Area 51 in Nevada.
NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
NVAHOF membership is open to any individual or organization, public or private, interested in preserving the history of aerospace in Nevada.
NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
[Membership Levels]
Individual Membership Levels:
Lifetime Adult: $500.00
Annual Family: $75.00
(No limit on the number of persons as long as in the same household)
Annual Adult: $50.00
Annual Student, Military, Senior (62+): $25.00
Sign up. Send us your email address to signup for our mailing list. Email
Join our past donors in our making it possible to continue our mission of educating the public regarding the history of aviation in Nevada, the contribution of Nevada citizens to the development of global aviation and to preserve the legacy of those men and women who pioneered and advanced our nation’s aerospace programs within the State of Nevada.
If you have questions about supporting NVAHOF, you may call the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame Director at (702) 566-4168 or via e-mail at tdbarnes@nvahof.org.
Follow us. Visit our online store:
This website designed by students of the Art Institute of Las Vegas: Brian DeCania (Instructor) | David Cox (student)
Copyright NVAHOF 2009
The Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame, being from the Battle Born state, strongly supports the centuries-long tradition of the challenge coin dating back to the Roman Empire who rewarded soldiers by presenting them with coins to recognize their achievements. The Office of Strategic Services, now the Central Intelligence Agency, first used challenge coins during the Hitler Era by personnel deployed in Nazi-held France. The coins were merely a local coin used as a “bona fides” during a personal meeting to help verify a person’s identity. There would be specific aspects such as the type of coin, date of the coin, etc. that were examined by each party. This helped prevent infiltration into the meeting by a spy who would have to have advance knowledge of the meeting time and place as well as what coin was to be presented, amongst other signals, as bona fides. Quoted shipping rates apply to sales within the USA only. NVAHOF offers challenge coins identifying those units or organizations earning enshrinement into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame so that you can acknowledge further them should you be challenged with a loudly announced “Coin Check,� hoping to nail you for a round of drinks for those producing their coin.
The 2018 NVAHOF Challenge Coin features the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES) Red Eagles, US Air Force Colonel Gaillard R. Peck, Jr., and CMSGT Richard F. Sinclair, USAF (Ret) enshrined into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame and is available for purchase in the NVAHOF Online Store. Quoted shipping rates apply to sales within the USA only.
4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES) Red Eagles
The United States 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4477 TES) under the claimant of the Tactical Air Command was a product of Project Constant Peg, a unit created to expose the tactical air forces to the flight characteristics of fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Secretly operating from the Tonopah Test Range, in Nevada the squadron known as the Red Eagles operated Soviet MiG-17s, MiG-21s and MiG-23s between 1977 and 1988 to train the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps pilots and weapon systems officers in air combat tactics against these foreign aircraft. The Red Eagles revitalized the art of dogfighting, bringing fundamental changes in US air combat tactics that played a significant part in the Air Force’s Red Flag program and the US Navy’s Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI), more popularly known as TOPGUN.
For the 4477th TES at Tonopah being instrumental in the re-development of dissimilar air combat training (DACT) methods developed after the end of the Vietnam War, the Red Eagles earned their place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame class of 2018.
Gaillard R. Peck, Jr.
On April 1, 1977, US Air Force Colonel Gaillard R. Peck, Jr., launched CONSTANT PEG to revitalized the art of dogfighting.
The unit, which became the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron “Red Eagles” flew MiG-17, MiG-21 and MiG-23 aircraft, restored to flying status and expertly maintained by technicians every bit as skilled as the pilots. Colonel Peck put the program together, from concept to airfield construction and served as the first commander of the “Red Eagles” at the Tonopah Test Range.
This incredible effort using covertly acquired Soviet-built aircraft prepared American fighter aircrews for aerial combat by using carefully selected US fighter pilots, specially trained in Soviet tactics, to fly these aircraft from the remote Tonopah Test Range airfield in central Nevada. The CONSTANT PEG program provided training that allowed US aircrews to be better prepared to win air combat engagements. Aircrews engaged in mock air combat against a unit that looked like the enemy and flew like the enemy.
For his work on a once highly-classified Air Force program code-named CONSTANT PEG, US Air Force Col Gaillard R. Peck, Jr., earned his place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame.
Richard F. Sinclair
In 1967, Richard F. Sinclair served in the United States Air Force at Nellis AFB, Nevada following a tour of duty in Vietnam. While an A-4 aircraft flight chief with the 4538th FWS at Nellis AFB, the Air Force detached him to the Foreign Technology Div. AFSC, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio in 1968. There, he participated in various exploitation projects in Nevada where he performed technical evaluations of acquired Soviet MiGs that resulted in the Air Force’s Red Flag program and the US Navy’s Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI) known as TOPGUN that reversed the ratio of US military planes lost in the Vietnam War and all wars since.
Now a Senior Master Sergeant, Sinclair continued to work on the classified exploitation program which eventually on 1 December 1977 became the 6513 Flight Test Squadron assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB Ca.
Promoted to Chief Master Sergeant, Sinclair continued to serve as the chief of maintenance in the 6513th Flight Test Squadron operating in a classified area in Nevada. For national security reasons, these activities and their venue remain classified.
Retiring from the Air Force in 1979 after 28.5 years of military service, he immediately joined The Lockheed Aircraft Company Skunkworks as a lead mechanic for the then-classified development of the F-117 Stealth Fighter. His experience on previous classified programs significantly aided in the fastest development process in the post-WWII era of the F-117 to a fully operational aircraft in two years from its first flight.
CMSGT Richard F. Sinclair, USAF (Ret), for his classified contributions to military aviation in Nevada, has earned his place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame class of 2018.
Support NVAHOF by purchasing this challenge coin $15.00
NVAHOF membership is open to any individual or organization, public or private, interested in preserving the history of aerospace in Nevada.
NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
[Membership Levels]
Individual Membership Levels:
Lifetime Adult: $500.00
Annual Family: $75.00
(No limit on the number of persons as long as in the same household)
Annual Adult: $50.00
Annual Student, Military, Senior (62+): $25.00
The Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame, being from the Battle Born state, strongly supports the centuries-long tradition of the challenge coin dating back to the Roman Empire who rewarded soldiers by presenting them with coins to recognize their achievements. The Office of Strategic Services, now the Central Intelligence Agency, first used challenge coins during the Hitler Era by personnel deployed in Nazi-held France. The coins were merely a local coin used as a “bona fides” during a personal meeting to help verify a person’s identity. There would be specific aspects such as the type of coin, date of the coin, etc. that were examined by each party. This helped prevent infiltration into the meeting by a spy who would have to have advance knowledge of the meeting time and place as well as what coin was to be presented, amongst other signals, as bona fides. Quoted shipping rates apply to sales within the USA only. NVAHOF offers challenge coins identifying those units or organizations earning enshrinement into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame so that you can acknowledge further them should you be challenged with a loudly announced “Coin Check,” hoping to nail you for a round of drinks for those producing their coin.
The United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron “Thunderbirds” made precision aerial flying an art form, demonstrating not only the “Thunderbirds” talents but also the incredible capabilities of Airmen throughout the United States Air Force. As “Ambassadors in Blue,” they projected international goodwill and reinforced public confidence in the United States of America as a great and proud nation. Thru hard work, unwavering dedication, and the collective strength of the “Thunderbirds” teams, they brought immense credit to the United States, their fellow airmen, and to Nevada that they call home.
For their past 60 years of performing precision aerial demonstrations that thrilled and amazed crowds around the world, the United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron “Thunderbirds” earned their place in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame. The 2013 NVAHOF Challenge Coin features the US Air Force Thunderbirds Demonstration Team enshrined into the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame and is available for purchase in the NVAHOF Online Store. Quoted shipping rates apply to sales within the USA only.
Support NVAHOF by purchasing this challenge coin $15.00
NVAHOF membership is open to any individual or organization, public or private, interested in preserving the history of aerospace in Nevada.
NVAHOF is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
[Membership Levels]
Individual Membership Levels:
Lifetime Adult: $500.00
Annual Family: $75.00
(No limit on the number of persons as long as in the same household)
Annual Adult: $50.00
Annual Student, Military, Senior (62+): $25.00
