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 Tom Reynolds began his photography career as a part-time photo technical representative at General Dynamics Fort Worth. A few years later, he transferred to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California, to be the sole chase photographer on the F-16XL program. Since then, he has photographed every F-16 block upgrade tested at the AFFTC as well as such F-16 variants as the MATV/VISTA aircraft. In 1993, he was chosen as the first civilian contractor photographer to fly in an F-16 at the AFFTC. His photo and video products have been featured in many military publications and aerospace industry magazines. Most recently, one of his photos was featured on the cover of Aviation Week. Reynolds continues to work at the F-16 Combined Test Force at Edwards and spends time on the F-22 and JSF programs.
"My first F-16 ride was with then Maj. C.D. Moore, F-16 Operations Officer at the 416th. C.D. is now Col. Moore, director of the F-22 Combined Test Force at Edwards. My favorite ride was on a LANTIRN test, five hundred knots at one hundred feet.
"Some of my more memorable rides include watching the F-16/MATV fly backwards and sideways—any which way the pilot wanted to fly; observing the development of the HARM Targeting System all the way to first HARM launch on an F-16; experiencing tail slides; chasing the F-22 on its first flight at Edwards; and chasing Chuck Yeager on the fiftieth anniversary of supersonic flight and broadcasting the chase video live to CNN. I’m also looking forward to other memorable rides shooting the Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstration flights."
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