Tigers, Spiders, And Raptors ... Oh, My!
On Tuesday, June 7, at NASA's Langley Research Center in
Hampton, VA, Alfred "Paul" Metz will present "Tigers, Spiders and
Raptors: One Test Pilot's Story," at 1400 EDT in the Reid
Conference Center. Metz will discuss how three fighter jet aircraft
revolutionized aviation in the last two decades of the Twentieth
Century.
F-20 Tigershark
That same evening at 1930, Metz will present a similar talk for
the general public at the Virginia Air & Space Center in
downtown Hampton. The presentation is free and no reservations are
required.
A retired military and civilian test pilot, Metz will focus on
how the F-20 Tigershark, YF-23 Black Widow and F-22A Raptor
represent a period where computers became dominant in aircraft
design and stealth technology was introduced in a pure air-to-air
fighter. He will discuss the design, development and flight test
programs of each aircraft. Metz is currently the vice president and
chief test pilot for Rocketplane Global.
YF-23 Black Widow
He was part of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
program and was vice president for the Integrated Test and
Evaluation (flight test) area. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, he
was an engineering test pilot and chief test pilot for Northrop
Aircraft for 12 years and served 12 years in the U.S. Air Force as
a fighter pilot and test pilot.
Metz joined the United States Air Force in 1968 and flew 68
missions over North Vietnam and took part in the pivotal "12 Days
of Christmas" raids in December 1972. He received two Distinguished
Flying Crosses and six Air Medals for his combat missions against
surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft gun sites in support of
strike missions in North Vietnam.
F-22 Raptor
He's a 1976 distinguished graduate from the USAF Test Pilot
School at Edwards Air Force Base and was an instructor pilot at the
U.S. Navy Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Md. Metz received a
bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering
from Ohio State University. His graduate studies have been in
aeronautical engineering at Ohio State and California State
University, Fresno, and aviation safety at the Naval Post Graduate
School, Monterey, CA.
In addition to numerous awards and honors, in 2008 he was
inducted into the USAF Gathering of Eagles. He has over 7,000 hours
and more than 37 years of experience flying 70 aircraft types
including the F-86, F-105, F-4, F-5, F-15, F-20, YF-23 and
F-22.