On December 23, 1974, Charles “Charlie” Bock and his team completed the B-1’s initial flight. Before leaving Rockwell in 1981, he logged 600 hours of flight time in that aircraft
On August 21, 2019, retired colonel Charles “Charlie” Bock, who piloted the B-1A on its initial flight, passed away. Bock also piloted the first B-58 Hustler from Fort Worth to Edwards Air Force Base when he was testing aircraft. Bock was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on November 24, 1925.
In 1949, Iowa Aviation Museum graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University. Bock served in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) for a very long time and had a remarkable career as a bomber pilot, fighter pilot, test pilot, and military astronaut nominee. Col. Bock flew 52 combat missions with the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing in Vietnam and 51 combat missions with the 90th Bomb Squadron in Korea. Two tours at Flight Test Operations at the Air Force Fight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, were among the other assignments.
He took involved in a number of the Center’s flight test initiatives and brought the first B-58 to leave the factory for a year of testing. Col. Bock flew the B-50 for the X-2 launch and the B-52 for all of the X-15’s initial captive and launch flights. A YF-12/SR-71 Test Force was established when the YF-12 landed at the Center, with Charlie serving as the Operations Officer. The objective was to help Lockheed increase the SR-71’s operating range.
Bock left the USAF in 1973 and accepted a job as the chief test pilot for the B-1 program at Rockwell International. On December 23, 1974, he and his crew completed the B-1’s maiden flight. Before quitting flying in that aircraft in 1981, he logged 600 hours of flight time.
Col. Bock was in charge of all aircrew training and significantly influenced the design of the priorities and objectives for the B-1 flight test program. He left Rockwell in 1981 and worked as a consultant for Northrop Corporation on the B-2 Stealth Bomber from 1982 to 1984.
Charles “Charlie” Bock logged more than 10,000 hours in more than 100 different types of aircraft throughout his flying career. He also won a number of numerous awards, including the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, six Air Medals, the Society of Experimental Test Pilots Tenhoff Award, and the Iven C. Kincheloe Award, in addition to the Legion of Merit. In 1994, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor.
Photo by U.S. Air Force and Iowa Aviation Museum