Thomas McMurtry joined NASA as a research test pilot in 1967. The first project he was assigned to as the project pilot was the F-8 Supercritical Wing project. He flew its first flight on 9 March 1971 and that of the NASA AD-1 on 21 December 1979. He was project pilot on the TF-8A Supercritical Wing testbed and the AD-1. He was co-project pilot on the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire Airplane, the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and performed digital electronic F-15 engine efficiency control tests. On 26 November 1975, the X-24B dropped from the sky for the last time, piloted on its 36th flight by McMurtry.