Since the engine failure occurred at sufficient altitude, he opted to glide the Harrier to a civilian airport and perform a deadstick landing, stopping just 50 feet (15 meters) short of the runway's end. Nalls was awarded the Air Medal for this first-of-a-kind Harrier landing. Nalls attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California having been selected for the one Marine Corps slot for that year. After graduating with class 85A, he was assigned to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland as project test pilot for several Harrier programs including the AV-8B Harrier II. Nalls performed the initial shipboard certification and flight tests on the Italian aircraft carrier "Giuseppe Garibaldi" and the Spanish aircraft carrier "Príncipe de Asturias" including the first ski-jump takeoffs in the AV-8B. While leading flight test efforts for several single-engine airstart projects, he accumulated over six hours of flight time in single-engine jet aircraft without the engine running. Nalls retired from the Marine Corps in 1998 with the rank of lieutenant colonel and 22 years of service. After retiring from the military, Nalls formed a company to acquire and improve real estate in the Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia area, The company did so well that he was able to return to flying with the acquisition of a Russian Yak-3 in 2001. Nalls next purchased a Czech Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros jet trainer. Although he enjoyed flying these aircraft, his dream was to own and fly his favorite—the Harrier. The next aircraft in Nalls fleet would be a Sea Harrier, a dedicated naval variant first announced by the Royal Navy in 1975. The Sea Harrier FRS1 entered service in April 1980 and became commonly known as the ""Shar"." The acronym "FRS1" referred to the functions of fighter, reconnaissance, and strike to be performed by the first group of Sea Harriers. In 1994, BAE Systems delivered the first "FRS2" model with improvements to the engine, radar, and cockpit layout. The "FRS2" nomenclature was replaced with "FA.2" to express the equal importance of fighter and attack missions. While on a trip to Britain in October 2005, Nalls purchased Sea Harrier XZ439, the second FRS1 aircraft built and the second to be converted to FRS2 configuration.