Research Pilot Edward T. Schneider is shown sitting in the cockpit of a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet that was used in the High Angle-of-Attack Research Vehicle (HARV) program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Ames - Dryden Flight Research Facility. When the aircraft arrived at the Dryden Facility in 1987, from the US Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland, it consisted of parts in crates. The aircraft crew made an airplane from those parts, and in doing so they took a "sow's ear" and created a "silk purse", thus the name on the side of the aircraft. Ed's helmet is from his time in the Navy. The design was taken from the Flag that is flown on the bow of a Navy ship, referred to as the Jack, and is navy blue with the 50 States being represented by the white stars. Ed arrived at the NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later renamed the Dryden Flight Research Center) on July 5, 1982, as a Navy Liaison Officer, becoming a NASA research pilot one year later. Ed was the project pilot for the F-18 High Angle-of-Attack program and later served as a project pilot for the F-15 aeronautical research aircraft, the NASA B-52 launch aircraft, and the SR-71 "Blackbird" aircraft. He served on active duty with the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1983. Following squadron service he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1973, and then served as an engineering test pilot, and test pilot school instructor at the Naval Air Test Center. Ed has been an active member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots since 1974. He was made a Fellow of the Society in 1993 and served as its President in 1993/94. In 1996 he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Chanute Flight Award. He retired as a NASA research pilot in September 2000.
