Testimony of Pilot -Series
Testimony of Pilot (18): Eulogy For a Fighter Pilot
Testimony of Pilot# 18 They do tell stories about fighter pilots and indeed, fast mover combat pilots of the fighter/attack clan are seldom reluctant to pass on a little this is no s..t (TINS) with quite possibly some embellishment of their swashing of buckles derring -do over time. Most readers are familiar with Pat Conroy’s book and follow-on movie The Great Santini, and some most certainly are knowledgable about Conroy’s Marine aviator father Colonel Don Conroy. Even though there is most certainly a dark side to Don Conroy as a father, for me this series and particularly for a chapter [...]
Testimony of Pilot (17): Naval Aviation Culture
Testimony of Pilot# 17 Proceedings Magazine – September 2011 published an article by Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman “Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead?” discussing the fallout of Tailhook ’91 and the effect political correctness has had on a hard-earned mystique, noting The swaggering-flyer mystique forged over the past century has been stymied in recent years by political correctness. Secretary Lehman’s focal point and full text go beyond the scope of Testimony of Pilot Chapter 3, “Where did/do we get such men?” but his lead in defines our heritage very well. from Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead? by John [...]
Testimony of Pilot (16): James Bond Stockdale – Where Indeed?
Testimony of Pilot# 16 MEDAL OF HONOR citation… for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while Senior Naval Officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam on 4 September 1969. Recognized by his captors as the leader in the Prisoners’ of War resistance to interrogation and in their refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation, Rear Admiral Stockdale was singled out for interrogation and attendant torture after he was detected in a covert communications attempt… … Sensing the start of another purge, and aware that his earlier efforts at self-dis-figuration [...]
Testimony of Pilot (15): “Where you ask? Oh, I can answer that!”
Testimony of Pilot# 15 Where do we get such men? …From the farms and the fields of America, grown from boys who labor and look beyond the horizon toward better lives—for themselves and for their families. The fields of Lewis Alexander Hopkins were red Georgia clay, and he saw the horizon along the backs and between the plow harness of Tom and Golden, the mule and the horse. After a long day, Lewis would trudge back home to a farmhouse with loose-fitting boards that let in the wind, a front porch where the family visited with neighbors, and with the [...]
Testimony of Pilot (14): Chapter 3 begins – “Where did we get such men?”
Testimony of Pilot# 14 We begin Chapter 3 of testimony with the source of THE question from James Michener. I remember my parents taking me to see the movie when it first came out. I’ve watched it multiple times since and done some research on the original Korean War context. Can’t say I was ever in favor of the ending but both the book and movie were a significant factor in my early interest in flying and eventual desire for and then pursuit of wings of gold. It represents pretty well the way navy combat flying is in reality. from [...]
Testimony of Pilot (13): Chapter Two – Final Reflection on “harnessing the sky”
Testimony of Pilot# 13 This second chapter takes its characterization as “harnessing the sky.” Remembering the sky trajectories from Kill Devil Hill to Paris to the Battles of Britain and Midway, to transcontinental airlines and to the edge of the atmosphere and eventually the Moon provide superb “this is no s…t” stories of so many great men and women. They were not only brave risk takers and great “sticks” but extraordinary engineers using aircraft as their data sources and computers in a continual effort to stretch the envelop of flight. Here to complete Chapter Two ARE reflections on three of the greatest with most significant impact on [...]
Testimony of Pilot (12): So, Where Does the Sky End?
Testimony of Pilot# 12 The whole history of the space program is part of moving on and making life better for people on Earth. I want to carry on their work on through the Shuttle, the Station, and the space exploration initiative. I think that’s the way I see it now, and that’s the way I will continue to feel, throughout this flight and, and even afterwards. Eileen Collins Space Shuttle Endeavor comes to Los Angeles to retire to museum life. James Tiberius Kirk, Where Are You? Update and Re-post of Rememberedsky’s fourth offering on 21 September 2012 Ask any pilot, [...]
Testimony of Pilot (11): Cockpits – Situational Awareness in the the Arena
Testimony of Pilot# 11 An airplane is just a bunch of sticks and wires and cloth, a tool for learning about the sky and about what kind of person I am, when I fly. An airplane stands for freedom, for joy, for the power to understand, and to demonstrate that understanding. Those things aren’t destructible. Nothing by Chance, Richard Bach SPAD XIII cockpit (c. 1918) as flown by Eddie Rickenbacker in the 94th AERO Squadron and the F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter “glass” cockpit (2018) Once I determined to make Trap’s story of the F4U Corsair development and test the [...]
Testimony of Pilot (10): Eileen Collins – Return to Flight
Testimony of Pilot# 10 In 1990, Eileen Collins was only the second woman to graduate as a test pilot and be selected as a NASA astronaut. She became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle mission during the Discovery’s rendezvous with Mir space station in 1995 and became the first female commander of a US spacecraft on Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-93. Her fourth and final mission was to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) as commander of Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-114 which heralded the “return to flight” of the Space Shuttle after the Columbia disaster. Discovery launched on [...]
Testimony of Pilot (9): Bob Hoover – the Best There Ever Was
Testimony of Pilot #9 the greatest pilot I ever saw.- Chuck Yeager Hoover’s “the finest acrobatic pilot we’ve seen in our lifetime” -Astronaut Wally Schirra greatest stick-and-rudder man who ever lived – Jimmy Doolittle Diversity of experience over their careers is certainly a characteristic of the aviators featured in this second offering of “harnessing the sky” stories within the testimony series. Bob Hoover taught himself aerobatics as a teenager, as a fighter pilot shot down a FW-190, served as a prisoner of war with aviators from various countries/services, escaped and stole a German fighter, as an Air Corps test pilot, among [...]
Blogroll
Testimony of Pilot -Series
Testimony of Pilot (18): Eulogy For a Fighter Pilot
Testimony of Pilot# 18 They do tell stories about fighter pilots and indeed, fast mover combat pilots of the fighter/attack clan are seldom reluctant to pass on a little this is no s..t (TINS) with quite possibly some embellishment of their swashing of buckles derring -do over time. Most readers are familiar with Pat Conroy’s book and follow-on movie The Great Santini, and some most certainly are knowledgable about Conroy’s Marine aviator father Colonel Don Conroy. Even though there is most certainly a dark side to Don Conroy as a father, for me this series and particularly for a chapter [...]
Testimony of Pilot (17): Naval Aviation Culture
Testimony of Pilot# 17 Proceedings Magazine – September 2011 published an article by Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman “Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead?” discussing the fallout of Tailhook ’91 and the effect political correctness has had on a hard-earned mystique, noting The swaggering-flyer mystique forged over the past century has been stymied in recent years by political correctness. Secretary Lehman’s focal point and full text go beyond the scope of Testimony of Pilot Chapter 3, “Where did/do we get such men?” but his lead in defines our heritage very well. from Is Naval Aviation Culture Dead? by John [...]
Testimony of Pilot (16): James Bond Stockdale – Where Indeed?
Testimony of Pilot# 16 MEDAL OF HONOR citation… for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while Senior Naval Officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam on 4 September 1969. Recognized by his captors as the leader in the Prisoners’ of War resistance to interrogation and in their refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation, Rear Admiral Stockdale was singled out for interrogation and attendant torture after he was detected in a covert communications attempt… … Sensing the start of another purge, and aware that his earlier efforts at self-dis-figuration [...]
Testimony of Pilot (15): “Where you ask? Oh, I can answer that!”
Testimony of Pilot# 15 Where do we get such men? …From the farms and the fields of America, grown from boys who labor and look beyond the horizon toward better lives—for themselves and for their families. The fields of Lewis Alexander Hopkins were red Georgia clay, and he saw the horizon along the backs and between the plow harness of Tom and Golden, the mule and the horse. After a long day, Lewis would trudge back home to a farmhouse with loose-fitting boards that let in the wind, a front porch where the family visited with neighbors, and with the [...]
Testimony of Pilot (14): Chapter 3 begins – “Where did we get such men?”
Testimony of Pilot# 14 We begin Chapter 3 of testimony with the source of THE question from James Michener. I remember my parents taking me to see the movie when it first came out. I’ve watched it multiple times since and done some research on the original Korean War context. Can’t say I was ever in favor of the ending but both the book and movie were a significant factor in my early interest in flying and eventual desire for and then pursuit of wings of gold. It represents pretty well the way navy combat flying is in reality. from [...]
Testimony of Pilot (13): Chapter Two – Final Reflection on “harnessing the sky”
Testimony of Pilot# 13 This second chapter takes its characterization as “harnessing the sky.” Remembering the sky trajectories from Kill Devil Hill to Paris to the Battles of Britain and Midway, to transcontinental airlines and to the edge of the atmosphere and eventually the Moon provide superb “this is no s…t” stories of so many great men and women. They were not only brave risk takers and great “sticks” but extraordinary engineers using aircraft as their data sources and computers in a continual effort to stretch the envelop of flight. Here to complete Chapter Two ARE reflections on three of the greatest with most significant impact on [...]
Testimony of Pilot (12): So, Where Does the Sky End?
Testimony of Pilot# 12 The whole history of the space program is part of moving on and making life better for people on Earth. I want to carry on their work on through the Shuttle, the Station, and the space exploration initiative. I think that’s the way I see it now, and that’s the way I will continue to feel, throughout this flight and, and even afterwards. Eileen Collins Space Shuttle Endeavor comes to Los Angeles to retire to museum life. James Tiberius Kirk, Where Are You? Update and Re-post of Rememberedsky’s fourth offering on 21 September 2012 Ask any pilot, [...]
Testimony of Pilot (11): Cockpits – Situational Awareness in the the Arena
Testimony of Pilot# 11 An airplane is just a bunch of sticks and wires and cloth, a tool for learning about the sky and about what kind of person I am, when I fly. An airplane stands for freedom, for joy, for the power to understand, and to demonstrate that understanding. Those things aren’t destructible. Nothing by Chance, Richard Bach SPAD XIII cockpit (c. 1918) as flown by Eddie Rickenbacker in the 94th AERO Squadron and the F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter “glass” cockpit (2018) Once I determined to make Trap’s story of the F4U Corsair development and test the [...]
Testimony of Pilot (10): Eileen Collins – Return to Flight
Testimony of Pilot# 10 In 1990, Eileen Collins was only the second woman to graduate as a test pilot and be selected as a NASA astronaut. She became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle mission during the Discovery’s rendezvous with Mir space station in 1995 and became the first female commander of a US spacecraft on Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-93. Her fourth and final mission was to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) as commander of Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-114 which heralded the “return to flight” of the Space Shuttle after the Columbia disaster. Discovery launched on [...]
Testimony of Pilot (9): Bob Hoover – the Best There Ever Was
Testimony of Pilot #9 the greatest pilot I ever saw.- Chuck Yeager Hoover’s “the finest acrobatic pilot we’ve seen in our lifetime” -Astronaut Wally Schirra greatest stick-and-rudder man who ever lived – Jimmy Doolittle Diversity of experience over their careers is certainly a characteristic of the aviators featured in this second offering of “harnessing the sky” stories within the testimony series. Bob Hoover taught himself aerobatics as a teenager, as a fighter pilot shot down a FW-190, served as a prisoner of war with aviators from various countries/services, escaped and stole a German fighter, as an Air Corps test pilot, among [...]