Warbird Information Exchange

Experimental Test Pilot Stanley Holtoner Dies: Retired Maj. Gen. Stanley Holtoner, instrumental in establishing Edwards AFB, Calif., as a leading test center for military aircraft, has died in Goldsboro, N.C., at age 99. He is scheduled for burial in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, reports the Goldsboro News-Argus. A native of New York City, Holtoner was the ninth pilot to fly at speeds of 1,000 miles per hour. He received a commission in 1932 as an Army second lieutenant and entered pilot training the next year. During World War II, he flew fighters, including as commander of the 82nd Fighter Group in Italy. In January 1952, Holtoner, then a colonel, took command of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards, spending five years there, expanding the center and flying in every test aircraft assigned there, including the Bell X-1. He won the Thompson Trophy Race in September 1953, setting a world speed record with an F-86D Sabre. He retired from the Air Force in February 1967.