Darryl greenamyer biography

American aviator (1936–2018)

Darryl George Greenamyer (August 13, 1936 – October 1, 2018) was an American aviator. He started his flying career in the US Air Force Reserve.^[2] After leaving the Air Force, he then began to work at Lockheed where he eventually became an SR-71 test pilot at Skunk works.

While working at Lockheed he met many of the engineers who would later help him make modifications to future race planes. He won his first victory in the Unlimited Class at the Reno Air Races in 1965.

Darryl greenamyer obituary

He is the third most successful competitor in Reno Air Race history.

History

On August 16, 1969, flying the highly modified Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat "Conquest I" (N1111L), Greenamyer broke the 30-year-old FAI Class C-1 Group I 3 km speed record with a speed of 777.38 kilometres per hour (483.04 mph).

An earlier attempt in 1966 by Greenamyer had to be aborted due to directional stability problems and an attempt in 1968 ended with a blown piston.