Colonel (ret) Dean Stickell, Class of 1963, was featured during a panel discussion celebrating the F-16’s fifty years of flight at the recent Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md. Stickell first flew the YF-16 prototype aircraft in March 1974 as a Tactical Air Command (TAC) pilot. He was the sixth person to fly the prototype aircraft, a role usually reserved for graduates of the Air Force test pilot program. Stickell’s extensive single-engine, single-seat fighter experience flying the F-100 and F-104 came in handy on his first YF-16 flight. The engine-throttle linkage disconnected a few minutes after takeoff while in IDLE power. Dean recorded the first F-16 near-flameout landing!
Stickell was the sole TAC pilot dedicated to fly with the lightweight fighter program’s YF-16 joint test force. Dean was quick to point out the tremendous cooperation between Edwards AFB & General Dynamics personnel, test pilots, and test engineers alike. Dean remained at Edwards AFB flying the F-16 through the full-scale development test phase after it was chosen as the winner of the lightweight fighter competition.
Dean then transitioned with the F-16 to the first operational wing at Hill AFB in 1979 as the 16th Tactical Training Fighter Squadron operations officer, later commander. He was the first U.S. pilot to achieve 1,000 F-16 flight hours and later commanded the 432 Tactical Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan. Dean is a Vietnam veteran where he flew the F-100 and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with twelve oak leaf clusters, and numerous other Vietnam service medals. He retired as a Colonel in 1992 after a serving a distinguished career.
