Jack Ridley
Encyclopedia
Jackie L. "Jack" Ridley (June 16, 1915 – March 12, 1957) was a colonel
in the United States Air Force
and a noted test pilot
who worked with Chuck Yeager
.
Ridley received his Bachelor of Science
in mechanical engineering
from the University of Oklahoma
in 1939 and his Master's degree
in aerospace engineering
from the California Institute of Technology
in 1945. Having served in the army before graduate school, he was assigned to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field
and attended Experimental Test Pilot School
from January through May 1946. Ridley was then assigned to the XS-1
project as a test pilot
and project officer at Muroc Army Air Field
, where he remained until May 1948. Fifteen months later, he was permanently assigned as chief of the Flight Test Engineering Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base
.
, Oklahoma
, not long after the aeroplane had made its first hesitant appearance on the world's stage. At that time, the warring powers in Europe were still uncertain about the role which their awkward flying machines would play on the field of war. Even that early, however, the U.S. Army was deep in plans to set up its own aeronautical engineering laboratory at McCook Field
at Dayton
, Ohio
, and by 1918 it had begun systematic research and development of the fledgling weapon of war. Ridley was destined to leave an indelible mark on the newly emerging science of aeronautical testing.
Jack graduated from a high school in Sulphur, Oklahoma
in 1935. Following high school, he entered the ROTC program at the University of Oklahoma where he received his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering in 1939. The world into which he graduated was in turmoil. By the summer of 1941, the Battle of Britain had been fought and the United States was desperately building up its long-neglected armed forces to prepare for the world conflict which many thought was inevitable. In July of that year, the young engineer received a commission in the U.S. Army field artillery and began a military career, which would continue for the rest of his life. The science of flight soon attracted him, however, and it was not long before he transferred to the Army Air Forces. Lieutenant Ridley was sent to the Flying Training School at Kelly Army Air Base in Texas, where he earned his pilot wings in May 1942.
, where his initial assignment was to conduct acceptance tests on four-engine B-24 Liberator bombers. Soon thereafter, he was named as engineering liaison officer on both the B-24 and B-32 programs. Even at that early date, the Air Corps was developing the mighty six-engine B-36 intercontinental bomber, later to become the mainstay of the postwar Strategic Air Command, and Ridley found himself assigned to that program as well.
Two years later, after the tide of battle had turned to the Allies' favor, Ridley was sent off to further his education. The technological revolution spawned by the war had demonstrated that the postwar Air Force's success would be dependent upon having a corps of officers with first-rate technical training. After attending the Army Air Forces School of Engineering at Wright Field (later renamed the Air Force Institute of Technology
), Ridley was sent to the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, California where he received his Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in July 1945.
Even as Ridley was attending the Flight Performance School, the revolutionary X-1 rocket research airplane was making its initial unpowered check flights and, within a year, the AAF (soon to achieve independence as the United States Air Force
) would assume control of the supersonic research program. Colonel Albert Boyd, the chief of the Flight Test Division, had the critical responsibility of selecting the project team that would attempt the world's first supersonic flight. In the spring of 1947, Boyd appraised his roster of 125 test pilots and finally selected three volunteers who were considered very junior in terms of their flight test experience: Captain Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager
, 1st Lieutenant Robert A. "Bob" Hoover
, and Ridley. He named Yeager and Hoover as primary and backup pilot respectively, and Ridley as project engineer. Boyd recognized Ridley's highly disciplined, razor sharp mind and he believed that, with his test piloting experience and his unique ability to translate esoteric concepts into everyday terms, he would be able to provide Yeager and Hoover with all of the engineering expertise they would need.
The choice was a happy one. As Yeager later explained:
Ridley's task was to analyze all of the technical data that was generated during the X-1 flights as it proceeded toward the unexplored region of supersonic flight. Studying the phenomena that the research plane encountered as it passed through the transonic region, he translated all of the information into pilot terminology for Yeager so that the flight program could be carried forward expeditiously, yet with safety. As Yeager later explained:
Ridley had to rise to meet unexpected problems and new aerodynamic principles. He faced the problem of a complete loss of elevator
effectiveness which Yeager experienced during his eighth powered flight as his Mach meter indicated a speed of Mach
0.94 (his true airspeed
was in the range of 0.96-0.99 Mach, just below the speed of sound
). At that speed, the little research plane stopped responding to all elevator control inputs, leaving the pilot unable to change his pitch angle, or to raise or lower the plane's nose in flight. When speed decreased slightly, the problem abruptly disappeared. Analysis suggested that a shockwave was forming along the elevator's hinge line, leaving it ineffective. Ridley determined in that speed range, the elevator itself could safely be dispensed with and the X-1's entire horizontal stabilizer, which could be adjusted for trim changes, be used for pitch control. The idea worked, and Ridley's concept eventually came to be incorporated in all supersonic aircraft — the "flying tail
."
Ridley also improvised a vital piece of equipment at the last minute. Two days before taking the X-1 on its first supersonic flight, Chuck Yeager broke two ribs in a horseback riding accident. With the aid of an understanding civilian doctor, he was able to conceal his condition from everyone but Ridley. Without the full use of his right arm, however, it would be impossible to seal himself into the tiny X-1 cockpit. Ridley quietly provided a length of broom handle that Yeager was able to use to close the hatch without difficulty.
If Yeager was a superb "intuitive engineer," able to identify the cause of any unexpected event in the air, Ridley was equally gifted in his computational and reasoning abilities. Indeed, Yeager often called him "the brains behind the whole X-1 test program." All three team members meshed well together. All were pragmatic, hands-on types with an instinct to ferret out a straightforward, practical solution to each problem as soon as it arose. The result was an energetic team of young professionals who fulfilled Colonel Boyd's most exacting expectations and, on October 14, 1947, led the world into the supersonic age. The Air Force recognized his efforts three years later by awarding him the Commendation Ribbon for meritorious achievement.
Ridley worked on the X-1 project until May 1948, when he was sent to the state of Washington for temporary assignment to the XB-47
program. The swept-wing Stratojet, powered by six J-47 turbojet engines and capable of high subsonic speeds, was in its way as revolutionary as the X-1 had been. His expertise proved instrumental in bringing the revolutionary jet bomber to operational status with the Strategic Air Command
. A year later, the flight test engineer was permanently assigned to Muroc (soon to be renamed Edwards) Air Force Base where he remained, with interruptions, until 1956.
Returning to Edwards Air Force Base, Ridley applied his reasoning skills to many of the new generation of jet and rocket aircraft then arriving on the ramp: the delta-winged XF-92A, the F-84F Thunderstreak, and the nation's new heavyweight bomber, the B-52. He worked on the entire family of Air Force research airplanes from the X-1 through the variable-sweep wing X-5. His responsibilities included planning flight test programs for various aircraft, identifying the stability characteristics and gathering the performance data which would later be used in writing Pilots Operating Handbooks and compiling standard aircraft characteristic charts.
Ridley corrected a problem with over-sensitive controls on the F-86E Sabre, which was still unsolved after several test flights. Waiting until night had fallen, Ridley led a team of engineers into a darkened hangar. There, he placed a flashlight on the horizontal tail and climbed into the cockpit. The flashlight beam, moving across the hangar door in response to his control inputs, easily revealed a lag problem, which could soon be corrected.
He never really turned off the computational portion of his mind, even when he was absorbed in other work. One evening found him deep in conversation at the officers club, planning the engineering aspects of an upcoming test series with the project pilot for the XF-91 rocket-assisted fighter program. Four master's degree hopefuls from MIT were seated at a nearby table, fretting at their inability to solve a complex problem which they had been assigned. Never breaking the thread of his own conversation, Ridley abruptly handed the students a notepad he had been scribbling on: "Would this help you any?" Cries of joy followed by hearty thumps on his back acknowledged his ingenious solution to their dilemma.
From project engineer, he was selected to be chief of the Test Engineering Branch. From this post he was subsequently promoted to Chief, Flight Test Engineering Laboratory. The responsibility of this division-level organization was to carry out the research and engineering phases of all of the experimental flight test programs assigned to the AFFTC, including overseeing such details as the human factors program and overseeing the weighing and balancing of aircraft. Ridley's new organization included separate branches for Data Reduction, Performance Engineering and Flight Research. It was in this post that he made his longest-lasting contributions to the science of flight testing.
Working with the Flight Test Center's Technical Director, Paul Bikle
, he defined the basic flight test techniques that are still used by the Air Force Flight Test Center. Aiming to reduce the increasing length of time and costs required to determine the results of the Center's flight tests, they standardized all of its data acquisition methods and set up a centralized Data Processing System. This made it possible for test teams to analyze their test data more rapidly, and to publish their Technical Reports more quickly. He also established training and indoctrination procedures for new military and civilian flight test engineers. Impressing his own long-thought-out ideals upon these changes and goals, Jack Ridley is still credited for creating the Flight Test Center's basic philosophy in use today.
By this point in his career, his professional reputation had already spread far afield. Dr. Theodore Von Karman, Chairman of the Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development (AGARD), nominated the young lieutenant colonel to represent the United States on its Flight Test Techniques Panel. This appointment was a signal honor. AGARD, a Standing Group of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had been created to bring together the leading aeronautical experts from each of the member nations to find ways to use aviation research and development personnel and facilities for the common benefit of the member nations. Ridley served in this prestigious position from 1952 until 1956.
Ridley was promoted to full colonel in 1956 and became a member of the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group.
in the 1983 film The Right Stuff. In 1996, Ridley was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor
and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, in 2003.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and a noted test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
who worked with Chuck Yeager
Chuck Yeager
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
.
Ridley received his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
from the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
in 1939 and his Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
from the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
in 1945. Having served in the army before graduate school, he was assigned to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
and attended Experimental Test Pilot School
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School is the Air Force's very advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new aerospace weapon systems and also other aircraft of the U.S. Air Force...
from January through May 1946. Ridley was then assigned to the XS-1
Bell X-1
The Bell X-1, originally designated XS-1, was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph in 1948...
project as a test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
and project officer at Muroc Army Air Field
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, where he remained until May 1948. Fifteen months later, he was permanently assigned as chief of the Flight Test Engineering Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
.
Early life and military career
Jack Ridley was born in GarvinGarvin, Oklahoma
Garvin is a town in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 143 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Garvin is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, this town has a total area of , all of it land....
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, not long after the aeroplane had made its first hesitant appearance on the world's stage. At that time, the warring powers in Europe were still uncertain about the role which their awkward flying machines would play on the field of war. Even that early, however, the U.S. Army was deep in plans to set up its own aeronautical engineering laboratory at McCook Field
McCook Field
McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917-1927...
at Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and by 1918 it had begun systematic research and development of the fledgling weapon of war. Ridley was destined to leave an indelible mark on the newly emerging science of aeronautical testing.
Jack graduated from a high school in Sulphur, Oklahoma
Sulphur, Oklahoma
Sulphur is a city in Murray County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,794 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Murray County.-Geography:Sulphur is located at ....
in 1935. Following high school, he entered the ROTC program at the University of Oklahoma where he received his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering in 1939. The world into which he graduated was in turmoil. By the summer of 1941, the Battle of Britain had been fought and the United States was desperately building up its long-neglected armed forces to prepare for the world conflict which many thought was inevitable. In July of that year, the young engineer received a commission in the U.S. Army field artillery and began a military career, which would continue for the rest of his life. The science of flight soon attracted him, however, and it was not long before he transferred to the Army Air Forces. Lieutenant Ridley was sent to the Flying Training School at Kelly Army Air Base in Texas, where he earned his pilot wings in May 1942.
Wartime career as a test pilot
The Air Corps needed engineering-trained pilots and, instead of being sent into an operational combat unit, Ridley was ordered to the Consolidated Vultee plant in Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, where his initial assignment was to conduct acceptance tests on four-engine B-24 Liberator bombers. Soon thereafter, he was named as engineering liaison officer on both the B-24 and B-32 programs. Even at that early date, the Air Corps was developing the mighty six-engine B-36 intercontinental bomber, later to become the mainstay of the postwar Strategic Air Command, and Ridley found himself assigned to that program as well.
Two years later, after the tide of battle had turned to the Allies' favor, Ridley was sent off to further his education. The technological revolution spawned by the war had demonstrated that the postwar Air Force's success would be dependent upon having a corps of officers with first-rate technical training. After attending the Army Air Forces School of Engineering at Wright Field (later renamed the Air Force Institute of Technology
Air Force Institute of Technology
The Air Force Institute of Technology is a graduate school and provider of professional and continuing education that is part of the United States Air Force. It is located on Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. A component of Air University and Air Education and Training Command, AFIT has been...
), Ridley was sent to the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, California where he received his Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in July 1945.
Postwar career
The young officer was sent to Wright Field, Ohio, and assigned to the Air Materiel Command's Flight Test Division. The world had seen the greatest advances in the history of aeronautics during the war: the piston engine reached its peak of development, jet propulsion was overturning all previous concepts of airplane design, and planes were flying higher and faster than ever before. The scientific and engineering staff at Wright Field had played a pivotal role in all of these developments. The science of training test pilots had also advanced, and Ridley had to go through the Air Materiel Command Flight Performance School before he could be put to work. In the spring of 1946, he graduated with Class 46A.Even as Ridley was attending the Flight Performance School, the revolutionary X-1 rocket research airplane was making its initial unpowered check flights and, within a year, the AAF (soon to achieve independence as the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
) would assume control of the supersonic research program. Colonel Albert Boyd, the chief of the Flight Test Division, had the critical responsibility of selecting the project team that would attempt the world's first supersonic flight. In the spring of 1947, Boyd appraised his roster of 125 test pilots and finally selected three volunteers who were considered very junior in terms of their flight test experience: Captain Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager
Chuck Yeager
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
, 1st Lieutenant Robert A. "Bob" Hoover
Bob Hoover
Robert A. "Bob" Hoover is a former air show pilot and United States Air Force test pilot, known for his wide-brimmed straw hat and wide smile. In aviation circles, he is often referred to as "The pilots' pilot."-Aviation career:...
, and Ridley. He named Yeager and Hoover as primary and backup pilot respectively, and Ridley as project engineer. Boyd recognized Ridley's highly disciplined, razor sharp mind and he believed that, with his test piloting experience and his unique ability to translate esoteric concepts into everyday terms, he would be able to provide Yeager and Hoover with all of the engineering expertise they would need.
The choice was a happy one. As Yeager later explained:
"Well, ... Hoover and I were definitely not flight test engineers! We could fly airplanes and we had an instinct for aerodynamics ... but Jack Ridley ... was a brain! Jack Ridley knew everything there was to know about aerodynamics and he was practical. And, besides, he was a good pilot ... and he fit right in with us. He spoke our language. Bob was a Tennessean and I was a West Virginian and, being an Okie, Jack spoke real good language for us."
"Even before we flew the X-1, I talked to him at great length about ‘what are we getting into? You know, what's it mean? We're going to be fooling around out of my realm…and you may understand this stuff but I don't. What the hell are we getting into?' And Jack would patiently explain. And I had a great deal of confidence in him and, you know, if he said something, that, to me, was from the Bible. You could take it to the bank."
Ridley's task was to analyze all of the technical data that was generated during the X-1 flights as it proceeded toward the unexplored region of supersonic flight. Studying the phenomena that the research plane encountered as it passed through the transonic region, he translated all of the information into pilot terminology for Yeager so that the flight program could be carried forward expeditiously, yet with safety. As Yeager later explained:
"I trusted Jack with my life. He was the only person on earth who could have kept me from flying the X-1. As committed as I was to the program, and with all that was riding on these flights, if Jack had said, 'Chuck, if you fly in that thing, you're not gonna make it,' that would have been it for yours truly."
Ridley had to rise to meet unexpected problems and new aerodynamic principles. He faced the problem of a complete loss of elevator
Elevator (aircraft)
Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
effectiveness which Yeager experienced during his eighth powered flight as his Mach meter indicated a speed of Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
0.94 (his true airspeed
True airspeed
True airspeed of an aircraft is the speed of the aircraft relative to the airmass in which it is flying. True airspeed is important information for accurate navigation of an aircraft.-Performance:...
was in the range of 0.96-0.99 Mach, just below the speed of sound
Speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds....
). At that speed, the little research plane stopped responding to all elevator control inputs, leaving the pilot unable to change his pitch angle, or to raise or lower the plane's nose in flight. When speed decreased slightly, the problem abruptly disappeared. Analysis suggested that a shockwave was forming along the elevator's hinge line, leaving it ineffective. Ridley determined in that speed range, the elevator itself could safely be dispensed with and the X-1's entire horizontal stabilizer, which could be adjusted for trim changes, be used for pitch control. The idea worked, and Ridley's concept eventually came to be incorporated in all supersonic aircraft — the "flying tail
Tailplane
A tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer , is a small lifting surface located on the tail behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes...
."
Ridley also improvised a vital piece of equipment at the last minute. Two days before taking the X-1 on its first supersonic flight, Chuck Yeager broke two ribs in a horseback riding accident. With the aid of an understanding civilian doctor, he was able to conceal his condition from everyone but Ridley. Without the full use of his right arm, however, it would be impossible to seal himself into the tiny X-1 cockpit. Ridley quietly provided a length of broom handle that Yeager was able to use to close the hatch without difficulty.
If Yeager was a superb "intuitive engineer," able to identify the cause of any unexpected event in the air, Ridley was equally gifted in his computational and reasoning abilities. Indeed, Yeager often called him "the brains behind the whole X-1 test program." All three team members meshed well together. All were pragmatic, hands-on types with an instinct to ferret out a straightforward, practical solution to each problem as soon as it arose. The result was an energetic team of young professionals who fulfilled Colonel Boyd's most exacting expectations and, on October 14, 1947, led the world into the supersonic age. The Air Force recognized his efforts three years later by awarding him the Commendation Ribbon for meritorious achievement.
Ridley worked on the X-1 project until May 1948, when he was sent to the state of Washington for temporary assignment to the XB-47
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
program. The swept-wing Stratojet, powered by six J-47 turbojet engines and capable of high subsonic speeds, was in its way as revolutionary as the X-1 had been. His expertise proved instrumental in bringing the revolutionary jet bomber to operational status with the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
. A year later, the flight test engineer was permanently assigned to Muroc (soon to be renamed Edwards) Air Force Base where he remained, with interruptions, until 1956.
Returning to Edwards Air Force Base, Ridley applied his reasoning skills to many of the new generation of jet and rocket aircraft then arriving on the ramp: the delta-winged XF-92A, the F-84F Thunderstreak, and the nation's new heavyweight bomber, the B-52. He worked on the entire family of Air Force research airplanes from the X-1 through the variable-sweep wing X-5. His responsibilities included planning flight test programs for various aircraft, identifying the stability characteristics and gathering the performance data which would later be used in writing Pilots Operating Handbooks and compiling standard aircraft characteristic charts.
Ridley corrected a problem with over-sensitive controls on the F-86E Sabre, which was still unsolved after several test flights. Waiting until night had fallen, Ridley led a team of engineers into a darkened hangar. There, he placed a flashlight on the horizontal tail and climbed into the cockpit. The flashlight beam, moving across the hangar door in response to his control inputs, easily revealed a lag problem, which could soon be corrected.
He never really turned off the computational portion of his mind, even when he was absorbed in other work. One evening found him deep in conversation at the officers club, planning the engineering aspects of an upcoming test series with the project pilot for the XF-91 rocket-assisted fighter program. Four master's degree hopefuls from MIT were seated at a nearby table, fretting at their inability to solve a complex problem which they had been assigned. Never breaking the thread of his own conversation, Ridley abruptly handed the students a notepad he had been scribbling on: "Would this help you any?" Cries of joy followed by hearty thumps on his back acknowledged his ingenious solution to their dilemma.
From project engineer, he was selected to be chief of the Test Engineering Branch. From this post he was subsequently promoted to Chief, Flight Test Engineering Laboratory. The responsibility of this division-level organization was to carry out the research and engineering phases of all of the experimental flight test programs assigned to the AFFTC, including overseeing such details as the human factors program and overseeing the weighing and balancing of aircraft. Ridley's new organization included separate branches for Data Reduction, Performance Engineering and Flight Research. It was in this post that he made his longest-lasting contributions to the science of flight testing.
Working with the Flight Test Center's Technical Director, Paul Bikle
Paul Bikle
Paul F. Bikle Director of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Facility from 1959 until 1971, and author of more than 40 technical publications, has been associated with major aeronautical research programs including the supersonic X-15 rocket plane, and...
, he defined the basic flight test techniques that are still used by the Air Force Flight Test Center. Aiming to reduce the increasing length of time and costs required to determine the results of the Center's flight tests, they standardized all of its data acquisition methods and set up a centralized Data Processing System. This made it possible for test teams to analyze their test data more rapidly, and to publish their Technical Reports more quickly. He also established training and indoctrination procedures for new military and civilian flight test engineers. Impressing his own long-thought-out ideals upon these changes and goals, Jack Ridley is still credited for creating the Flight Test Center's basic philosophy in use today.
By this point in his career, his professional reputation had already spread far afield. Dr. Theodore Von Karman, Chairman of the Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development (AGARD), nominated the young lieutenant colonel to represent the United States on its Flight Test Techniques Panel. This appointment was a signal honor. AGARD, a Standing Group of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had been created to bring together the leading aeronautical experts from each of the member nations to find ways to use aviation research and development personnel and facilities for the common benefit of the member nations. Ridley served in this prestigious position from 1952 until 1956.
Ridley was promoted to full colonel in 1956 and became a member of the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group.
Death and legacy
Flying as a passenger in a C-47 over Japan on March 12, 1957, Col Ridley died at the age of 42 when the transport crashed into a snow-covered mountainside northwest of Tokyo. In 1980, the Ridley Mission Control Center at Edwards Air Force Base was dedicated in Jack Ridley's honor. Ridley was portrayed (albeit beyond the time of his death) by Levon HelmLevon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
in the 1983 film The Right Stuff. In 1996, Ridley was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor
Aerospace Walk of Honor
The Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, California, USA, honors test pilots who have contributed to aviation and space research and development....
and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, in 2003.