Arthur L. Nalls, Jr. (born 1954) is a retired
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
,
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...
, and
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
who owns and operates a unique air show business consisting of two
Harrier jump jet
The Harrier, informally referred to as the Harrier jump jet, is a family of jet-powered attack aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations (V/STOL). Named after a bird of prey, it was originally developed by British ma ...
s as well as an L-39 Albatross. A former Guinness World Record holder for the World's Smallest Rideable Bicycle (1974), Nalls is notable for his contributions to the air show profession pioneering, restoring and flying uncommon aircraft. Nalls flew Harriers extensively in the military and developed a great enthusiasm for this jet capable of
vertical/short takeoff and landing
A vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft is an airplane able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways. Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft are a subset of V/STOL craft that do not require runways at al ...
(V/STOL) operations. Supported by a group of pilots and maintainers, Nalls performs at air shows in the northeast United States and Canada.
According to Nalls, his Sea Harrier XZ439 is the world's first privately owned and flown Harrier of any kind. In 2014, he acquired a two-seat Harrier that is the world's only flyable civilian Harrier trainer aircraft. In 2020, Nalls decided to sell the Harriers and focus on other aviation opportunities including the SMART-1 microjets acquired in 2018 with the purchase of Aerial Productions International.
Early life
Art Nalls was born in 1954 in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C.
In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...
, just outside
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and grew up in that area. He graduated from Hayfield High School in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C.
In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...
, in 1972 and attended the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
in
Annapolis, Maryland. Nalls graduated "With Merit" with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in Aerospace Engineering.
He has two adult sons, Arthur and Brian.
[
]
Military career
At the Naval Academy, Nalls chose aerospace engineering as his major field of study. His unconventional methods and eccentric interests were presented as key personal characteristics in articles from ''The Washington Post'' and ''Flightglobal''. While still at the academy, Nalls built and rode the world's smallest rideable bicycle standing less than five inches tall as certified by ''Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
''.
In 1982, Nalls participated in Northern Wedding, a NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Cold War naval military exercise, designed to test NATO's ability to rearm and resupply Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
during times of war. He flew one of eleven AV-8A Harriers from North Carolina to the located in the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
. Nalls, then a captain, was interviewed stating, "We made the trans-Atlantic crossing to demonstrate our rapid deployment capabilities. We showed we could make the transit, land on a Navy amphibious platform and be ready on arrival to provide close-air support.”
On April 29, 1983, during a training flight near Richmond, Virginia, Nalls's Harrier suffered a complete loss of engine power. Since the engine failure occurred at sufficient altitude, he opted to glide the Harrier to a civilian airport and perform a deadstick landing
A deadstick landing, also called a dead-stick landing, is a type of forced landing when an aircraft loses all of its propulsive power and is forced to land. The "stick" does not refer to the flight controls, which in most aircraft are either ful ...
, stopping just 50 feet (15 meters) short of the runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...
's end. Nalls was awarded the Air Medal
The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
Criteria
The Air Medal was establish ...
for this first-of-a-kind Harrier landing.
Nalls attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test flight officer, navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new ...
at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California having been selected for the one Marine Corps slot for that year. After graduating with class 85A, he was assigned to Naval Air Station Patuxent River
Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River.
It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air S ...
, Maryland as project test pilot for several Harrier programs including the AV-8B Harrier II
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...
. Nalls performed the initial shipboard certification and flight tests on the Italian aircraft carrier ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' and the Spanish aircraft carrier ''Príncipe de Asturias'' including the first ski-jump takeoffs in the AV-8B. While leading flight test efforts for several single-engine airstart projects, he accumulated over six hours of flight time in single-engine jet aircraft without the engine running. Nalls retired from the Marine Corps in 1998 with the rank of lieutenant colonel and 22 years of service.
Civilian career
After retiring from the military, Nalls formed a company to acquire and improve real estate in the Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia area, The company did so well that he was able to return to flying with the acquisition of a Russian Yak-3
The Yakovlev Yak-3 (Russian: Яковлев Як-3) was a single-engine, single-seat World War II Soviet fighter. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew.Glancey 2006, p. 180. One of the smallest and light ...
in 2001. Nalls next purchased a Czech Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros
The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody. It is the most widely used jet trainer in the world; in addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flo ...
jet trainer. Although he enjoyed flying these aircraft, his dream was to own and fly his favorite—the Harrier.
Team SHAR
The next aircraft in Nalls fleet would be a Sea Harrier, a dedicated naval variant first announced by the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
in 1975. The Sea Harrier FRS1 entered service in April 1980 and became commonly known as the "''Shar''." The acronym "FRS1" referred to the functions of fighter, reconnaissance, and strike to be performed by the first group of Sea Harriers. In 1994, BAE Systems delivered the first "FRS2" model with improvements to the engine, radar, and cockpit layout. The "FRS2" nomenclature was replaced with "FA.2" to express the equal importance of fighter and attack missions. While on a trip to Britain in October 2005, Nalls purchased Sea Harrier XZ439, the second FRS1 aircraft built and the second to be converted to FRS2 configuration. He shipped the jet back to the United States where a mostly volunteer team led by mechanics Christian Vlahos and Rich Gill worked for more than two years to bring the 31-year-old plane back to flying condition. On November 10, 2007, Nalls achieved his dream when he successfully flew XZ439 at St. Mary's County Regional Airport in Maryland—a first for a non-military pilot.
The second flight on the following day was not as successful. Shortly after takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff.
For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a ...
, a hydraulics
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...
failure prevented the landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
from locking in place. Nalls declared an emergency and prepared to land at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. As he touched down, parts of the gear collapsed, and the jet settled hard on the landing pad. Nalls shut down the engine as base emergency services and the XZ439 ground team arrived. Uninjured, Nalls opened the canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...
and joked, "These babies practically land themselves." The aircraft was removed from NAS Patuxent River, towed by a pickup truck while Nalls rode in the cockpit dressed as Santa Claus and waved to bystanders. Damage to the Harrier was minor.
The team of volunteers that operated and maintained XZ439, also known as Team SHAR, started with the following key members:
* Art Nalls, Lt. Col., USMC (ret)—owner and pilot, call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...
''Kaos''
* Pat Hatfield-Nalls—air show coordinator, co-owner, and Nalls's wife
* Joe Anderson, MGen, USMC (ret)—pilot
* Christian Vlahos—lead mechanic
* Rich Gill—lead mechanic
* Pete Weiskopf, Senior Chief, USN, (ret)—mechanic and pilot of Nalls's L-4 Piper Cub
* Bryant Halford—mechanic
Air show performer
Nalls initially flew XZ439 at the 2008 Culpepper Air Fest to prove the Harrier could draw crowds and be operated at a profit despite the complex maintenance demands. The Culpepper show drew more than 4,000 spectators and established Nalls Aviation as a major air show attraction that later included venues such as the Fair Saint Louis and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsi ...
. In 2011, Nalls Aviation participated in about six air shows a year.
In 2014, Nalls acquired a second Sea Harrier, T.8 ZD993, that according to Nalls is the only flyable civilian Harrier trainer in the world. Besides providing a second aircraft for air shows, the trainer allows Nalls Aviation to safely train and certify new Harrier pilots. According to Nalls web site, several new pilots were added to the air show team in 2015: Col. Jenna Dolan USMCR, Lt. Col. Charlie VandenBossche USAF, and Major Monica Marusceac USMCR.
Nalls has also acquired a BD-5J, which is known as "The World's Smallest Jet." This particular jet is serial number BDA-01 and holds the record according to Guinness. This airplane is considerably smaller and lighter than other models of BD jets flying. Nalls has not flown this jet, due to a personal recommendation from the designer, Jim Bede to replace the engine with a newer variant of engine before flying.
In 2017, Nalls was featured in AARP Studios "Badass Pilot" series. The nine-part series, hosted on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, follows Nalls and his team as they perform at air shows. The first episode aired on November 14, 2017 and described how Nalls acquired the Sea Harrier. Later episodes will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of flying and maintaining these rare aircraft.
In 2020, Nalls placed his Harrier aircraft and spare parts up for sale signaling the end of his direct participation flying the Sea Harrier at air shows. Nalls and Team SHAR have flown aerial demonstrations in the Sea Harrier since 2007.
SMART-1 microjet
In 2018, Nalls Aviation announced that they had acquired Aerial Productions International (API), a company that adapted the small and relatively inexpensive BD-5J microjet to simulate a cruise missile in support of United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
(DoD) activities. Cruise missile defense has been an area of increasing importance for the DoD in order to prevent attacks such as the one that occurred at a Saudi oil facility in 2019. API modified the BD-5J from an air show performer to the Small Manned Aerial Radar Target, Model 1 (SMART-1) configuration by reducing radar cross-section and increasing top speed. In September 2019, Nalls and an API team with 6+ microjets flew to Gila Bend Municipal Airport
Gila Bend Municipal Airport is east of Gila Bend, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States.
Facilities
The airport covers at an elevation of . It has one runway:
* 4/22 is 5,200 by 75 feet (1,585 x 23 m) asphalt.
It has a VORTAC (116.60 ...
in Arizona and successfully completed three days of airborne radar testing at a nearby US government test range. Nalls reported additional test events with the microjets are planned. In 2020, Nalls group deployed to Largo, Florida
Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, as well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 82,500, up from 69,371 in 2000.
Largo was first incorporated in ...
and used the microjets to help test a future ship-borne radar for the US military.
Community activities
Nalls is active in the aviation community honoring veterans and sharing his experiences with groups such as the Civil Air Patrol and Young Eagles
The Young Eagles is a program created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association designed to give children between the ages of 8 to 17 an opportunity to experience flight in a general aviation airplane while educating them about aviation. The pr ...
. In 2013, he was one of eight civilian pilots that performed a ceremonial flyover at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
for the burial of two Air Force pilots killed during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. Nalls celebrated the military service of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
fighter ace, Rear Admiral E. L. "Whitey" Feightner, at the Cleveland National Air Show in 2014. On May 8, 2015, he participated in a flyover of the nation's capital to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Allies of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...
. He was in the first formation of aircraft over the National Mall, consisting of four, Liaison aircraft. They are the military version of the Piper Cub, known as the L-4 "Grasshopper."
A member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggest ...
, Nalls co-authored two conference papers. The first was presented at the 1989 symposium and evaluated ski jump operations aboard the ''Príncipe de Asturias'' in the AV-8B Harrier. The second was presented at the 1993 symposium and evaluated the performance of Former Soviet Union
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
V/STOL aircraft including the Yakovlev Yak-38
The Yakovlev Yak-38 (russian: Яковлев Як-38; NATO reporting name: "Forger") was the Soviet Naval Aviation's only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It ...
and Yak-141
The Yakovlev Yak-141 (russian: Яковлев Як-141; NATO reporting name "Freestyle"), also known as the Yak-41, is a Soviet supersonic vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) fighter aircraft designed by Yakovlev. It was used for testing.
Desi ...
. In 2017, Nalls was inducted into the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviation Association also known as the Golden Eagles. The group was founded in 1956 to provide a living memorial to early naval aviators.
In 2020, Nalls and retired US Navy rear admiral, Scott Sanders, conceived an unusual way to support veterans organizations by selling "700 Mile Per Hour Bourbon". Bourbon whiskey supplied by Sanders' distillery will be carried in two specially modified external fuel tank
A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelle ...
s aboard Nalls' Sea Harrier and flown at high altitude and speed. The unique bourbon will then be sold and the proceeds donated to the Semper Fi & America's Fund. Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the flight was not expected to occur until 2021. The flight finally took place in late August 2021 with the Harrier carrying 670 pounds of bourbon.
, Nalls and his wife, Pat, reside in Calvert County, Maryland.
Honors
During his career, Nalls has flown approximately 75 types of aircraft, performed more than 400 launches from a carrier, and received the following honors:
* Air Medal for meritorious achievement in aerial flight on April 29, 1983, when Nalls's Harrier lost power. Nalls safely landed the unpowered aircraft on a civilian airport runway. This was the first time an engine-out landing had been performed in the Harrier
* Honored military alumnus of Hayfield High School
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nalls, Arthur L.
1954 births
American test pilots
Aviators from Virginia
Living people
Recipients of the Air Medal
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni
United States Marine Corps officers
United States Naval Academy alumni