RIP. He was a true American hero. Those pilots - and many of them were test pilots - had to know they were pushing well beyond the limits. I’m amazed at how they handled themselves considering the dangers they faced on each flight.
I love two stories in his book. The first was about him hunting enough elk to feed his entire organization in a celebratory dinner. He did it at altitude - in a P-39 with the cannon (which fired through the prop hub) in single shot mode!
The second was a flight he took with Neil Armstrong (yup, that one) with NA in the front seat. He had told NA that one particular part of the salt flats was too soft to support the aircraft. He was pooh-poohed and NA made the landing - whereupon, the landing gear broke through the crust, and the airplane refused to move despite the engines running at full power! "Nice day for a walk home, Neil."
When people like this die and are not replaced, the country eventually dies. For a country that was founded on hard work; risk taking; and self-sufficiency, we sure have lost our way.
I fear the ski is right; young folks nowadays have no fucking clue. Their enabling helicopter parents have created a group of clueless entitled lazy brats.
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The second was a flight he took with Neil Armstrong (yup, that one) with NA in the front seat. He had told NA that one particular part of the salt flats was too soft to support the aircraft. He was pooh-poohed and NA made the landing - whereupon, the landing gear broke through the crust, and the airplane refused to move despite the engines running at full power! "Nice day for a walk home, Neil."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/us/ch…
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086197/?re…