USAF Pilot, Flight Engineer for X-1 and Flight Test Museum Supporter Passes on 102nd Birthday 

The Flight Test Museum Foundation Board of Directors and Trustees have announced some sad news to their colleagues with the passing of Brigadier General Robert "Bob" Cardenas. 

Cardenas, a longtime supporter of the museum's mission and friend to the community, passed away on his 102nd birthday on March 10 just after midnight. 

In an address to friends, donors, and members of the test pilot scene, the museum foundation mourned the loss of a longtime fixture of the flight testing community, a founding member hailing back to a time when the policies had to be written from scratch, when fortune was just as important as preparation. Cardenas was born in Yucatan, Mexico in 1920, later moving to San Diego, California, breaking into flight test engineering at Muroc and Edwards AFB. He worked on a series of high-profile aircraft projects, like flying the B-29 that launched Chuck Yeager in his historic flights to achieve Mach 1. His work is embedded in the very fabric of aviation forever, a part of something much larger for centuries to come. 

"We have lost more than a dear friend; we have lost a true inspiration of achievement and proof of what this country stands for. We often referred to Bob not only for his achievements in aerospace as a flight test engineer and Air Force leader but also for who Bob was as a person, friend, father, husband, and inspiration for what you can accomplish if you set your mind to it."

The Flight Test Museum will hold a livestreamed memorial service on March 31st, at 1800 pacific time. 

FMI: www.flighttestmuseumfoundation.org, www.memoryafilms.com/cardenas