Monday, October 02, 2006

Henry Baird 'Hank' Dees 1929-2006





Henry Baird (Hank) Dees, was the co-pilot on the first flight of the C-141 StarLifter transport in December 1963 and the pilot in command on the first flight of the L-1011 TriStar airliner in November 1970.

Dees joined Lockheed Georgia Company, in Marietta, in 1955 after a career in the US Air Force. At Lockheed, he made the first flight of the C-130BL (later designated LC-130F) Ski-Herk and served as a project pilot on the QB-47 drone, JetStar, C-141, and C-5A Galaxy programs. He moved to California in 1970 as assistant chief engineering test pilot. He was named director of flying operations at Lockheed California in 1973, serving until his retirement in 1984.