Lockheed test pilot Dave Ferguson passed away on 10 August 2011 after a long battle with cancer. He was seventy-two. Ferguson flew the first flight and carried out initial airworthiness tests on the YF-22, the F-22 Raptor prototype, in 1990. Previously, he flew as test pilot on the F-117 program and was the second company pilot to fly the Nighthawk. He flew combat missions in Vietnam and after an eight-year stint as a military test pilot, joined Lockheed in 1979. He retired as director of flight test in 1999. He was a two-time recipient of the Iven C. Kincheloe Award, the highest honor given by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, for his work with the F-117 and YF-22.
