Final flight for long-time aerial photographer

Tom Reynolds, Lockheed Martin aerial photographer, leaves the cockpit for the last time as he completes his final ejection seat flight Sept. 29 after 28 years of immortalizing pilots and aircraft through photos and video. He has been an aerial photographer since 1988 where he supported the continued development of the F-16 Fighting Falcon at the F-16 Combined Test Force. From there his career grew into documenting other airframes – the F-22 Raptor and now the F-35 Lighting II. Reynolds has 1,800 flight hours in the F-16 and a “couple of hundred” more in the F-15 Eagle. The majority have been as photo chase for testing at Edwards. Before working for Lockheed Martin, he worked for General Dynamics – then the manufacturer of the F-16 – in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. He came to Edwards as part of a team tasked to perform initial flight tests of two new delta-winged versions of the F-16 called the F-16XL. Reynolds will continue to work for Lockheed Martin on the ground.