page_title: Fred Ascani
section_title: Flight test
hierarchical_section_title: Fred Ascani / Flight test
caption_attribution_description: English: The 1956 U.S. Air Forces in Europe (50th Fighter-Bomber Wing) representatives to the Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., included (left to right) Capt. Coleman Baker, Lt. Col. Charles "Chuck" Yeager, Col. Fred Ascani, Maj. James Gasser and Capt. Robert Pasqualicchio.
context_page_description: Fred J. Ascani was an American Major General and test pilot of the United States Air Force. He was one of the "Men of Mach 1" and was considered father of Systems Engineering at Wright Field.
context_section_description: Upon his return to the U.S., Lt. Colonel Ascani was transferred to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field where he was assigned chief of the bomber test section. He attended the Flight Performance School (now the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School) and graduated with class 46. In January 1946, Ascani met his new boss, Colonel Al Boyd, who would have a significant impact on both USAF flight test and Ascani's career. Boyd and Ascani worked well together, and Ascani became Boyd's deputy both at Wright Field and later at Edwards Air Force Base. One notable decision made by Boyd and Ascani was the pilot choice for who would first break the sound barrier. Although Ascani had initially recommended Major Ken Chilstrom, they eventually agreed that Chuck Yeager would pilot the Bell X-1, and Chilstrom would fly the performance, stability and control tests in the new XP-86. During his tour at Edwards AFB, Ascani flew a wide variety of research aircraft including the X-1, X-4, X-5, and the XF-92A. A highlight of his flying career occurred in 1951 when he flew an F-86E at the National Air Show in Detroit, Michigan, and established a new 100-kilometer closed course speed record of 635 mph. In September 1951, Colonel Ascani was named vice commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB.
  In 1953, Ascani left flight test for a time. He studied for a year at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base. After completing the coursework, Ascani was selected as the group commander of the 86th Fighter Interceptor Group based in Landstuhl, Germany. In June 1955, he was assigned as the wing commander of the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing, Hahn, Germany, and Toul-Rosières Air Base, France.
caption: Members of the 50th Fighter Wing at Nellis in 1956. (left to right) Capt. Coleman Baker, Lt. Col. Chuck Yeager, Col. Fred Ascani, Maj. James Gasser and Capt. Robert Pasqualicchio
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "The 1956 U.S. Air Forces in Europe (50th Fighter-Bomber Wing) representatives to the Air Force Fighter Weapons Meet at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., included (left to right) Capt. Coleman Baker, Lt. Col. Charles \"Chuck\" Yeager, Col. Fred Ascani, Maj. James Gasser and Capt. Robert Pasqualicchio. (U.S. Air Force photo courtesy of Randy Saunders)", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "150", "Image YResolution": "150", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2006:12:13 17:03:04", "Image Artist": "U.S. Air Force photo courtesy of Randy Saunders", "Image ExifOffset": "572", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "710", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4521", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "961", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "609"}