Bill Dana

http://www.kvoa.com/news/legendary-test-pilot-bill-dana-dies-in-arizona/

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Famed research test pilot Bill Dana, who flew
the X-15 rocket plane and other pioneering aircraft during the
birth of the space age, has died at age 83.

.....

Starting in the 1950s, Dana logged more than 8,000 hours in
more than 60 types of aircraft, ranging from helicopters and
sailplanes to the hypersonic X-15, which he flew to a maximum
altitude of nearly 59 miles, reaching a top speed of 3,897 mph.

In 2005, he was awarded civilian astronaut wings for two of
those flights to the edge of space - nearly 40 years after
his X-15 flights - because at the time, NASA did not confer
astronaut wings on its pilots.

Dana also flew NASA's so-called lifting body aircraft that led
to the design of the space shuttle.

......


--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

David Lesher scribbled something on Thursday the 5/8/2014:
http://www.kvoa.com/news/legendary-test-pilot-bill-dana-dies-in-arizona/

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Famed research test pilot Bill Dana, who flew
the X-15 rocket plane and other pioneering aircraft during the
birth of the space age, has died at age 83.

....

Starting in the 1950s, Dana logged more than 8,000 hours in
more than 60 types of aircraft, ranging from helicopters and
sailplanes to the hypersonic X-15, which he flew to a maximum
altitude of nearly 59 miles, reaching a top speed of 3,897 mph.

In 2005, he was awarded civilian astronaut wings for two of
those flights to the edge of space - nearly 40 years after
his X-15 flights - because at the time, NASA did not confer
astronaut wings on its pilots.

Dana also flew NASA's so-called lifting body aircraft that led
to the design of the space shuttle.

.....

He flew the 199th and last flight of the X-15 in October of 1968. (A
200th flight with a different pilot was scheduled for the next month,
but was scrubbed due to weather and then finally cancelled.)

Dana flew 16 X-15 flights, and topped out at 58.1 miles during flight
174 in November 1966.

He finished his career in 1998 after 5 years of being Chief Engineer at
Dryden.

Another fine one has left us groundlings behind.

/dps

--
Ieri, oggi, domani

"Snidely" wrote in message news:mn.45877de5a68f9e42.127094@snitoo...

David Lesher scribbled something on Thursday the 5/8/2014:
http://www.kvoa.com/news/legendary-test-pilot-bill-dana-dies-in-arizona/

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Famed research test pilot Bill Dana, who flew
the X-15 rocket plane and other pioneering aircraft during the
birth of the space age, has died at age 83.

....

Starting in the 1950s, Dana logged more than 8,000 hours in
more than 60 types of aircraft, ranging from helicopters and
sailplanes to the hypersonic X-15, which he flew to a maximum
altitude of nearly 59 miles, reaching a top speed of 3,897 mph.

In 2005, he was awarded civilian astronaut wings for two of
those flights to the edge of space - nearly 40 years after
his X-15 flights - because at the time, NASA did not confer
astronaut wings on its pilots.

Dana also flew NASA's so-called lifting body aircraft that led
to the design of the space shuttle.

.....

He flew the 199th and last flight of the X-15 in October of 1968. (A 200th
flight with a different pilot was scheduled for the next month, but was
scrubbed due to weather and then finally cancelled.)

Dana flew 16 X-15 flights, and topped out at 58.1 miles during flight 174
in November 1966.

He finished his career in 1998 after 5 years of being Chief Engineer at
Dryden.

Another fine one has left us groundlings behind.

/dps


Arguably he has touched the sky, in more ways than one.