An Amusing Bit of X-15 Trivia

In doing a web search on the Dyna-Soar space vehicle program, which was
cancelled before a flight, I learned that the X-24 was a later lifting
body that the Air Force did get to fly.

In an article on a site with photos of X-24 flights, I learned that "The
pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was" ... a certain
individual ... "who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years
earlier."

I assume the individual in question was a test pilot, and being a test
pilot wasn't merely his "day job". It just happened that his name was
the same as that of someone in the entertainment industry... no, not Don
Knotts, but he did portray *another* reluctant astronaut.

We all remember Cardinal Ximenes from the Spanish Inquisition... but
over the years, other people from the same family were affected by
changes in Spanish orthography. And it was in that line that the
ficticious character of which I am thinking was put.

I cannot help but think that X-15 and X-24 pilot Bill Dana might have,
like the Mercury astronauts, encountered the odd Jose Jimenz joke during
his career.

John Savard
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On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 17:40:09 GMT, lid
(John Savard) wrote, in part:

I assume the individual in question was a test pilot, and being a test
pilot wasn't merely his "day job". It just happened that his name was
the same as that of someone in the entertainment industry... no, not Don
Knotts, but he did portray *another* reluctant astronaut.

Although there are some celebrities who are also pilots... Arthur
Godfrey comes to mind...

indeed, William Dana the test pilot was born on November 3rd, 1930, and
Bill Dana the comedian was born on October 5th, 1924... and even
Wikipedia has information about both individuals! (I used print
materials to research the test pilot... a book called "The History of
Space Shuttle"... at least, I couldn't see the "the" on the cover.)

John Savard
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On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 22:34:14 GMT, lid
(John Savard) wrote, in part:

and
Bill Dana the comedian was born on October 5th, 1924...

as Wikipedia notes, as William Szathmary.

I wonder if he was related to the composer of the theme from "Get
Smart", Irving Szathmary... ah yes, they're brothers.

John Savard
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John Savard wrote:
On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 22:34:14 GMT, lid
(John Savard) wrote, in part:

and
Bill Dana the comedian was born on October 5th, 1924...

as Wikipedia notes, as William Szathmary.

I wonder if he was related to the composer of the theme from "Get
Smart", Irving Szathmary... ah yes, they're brothers.


And as AP writer Bob Thomas noted, Bill Dana got Don Adams his first TV
job, which led to the Get Smart nomination.

/dps

lid (John Savard) wrote:

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 17:40:09 GMT, lid
(John Savard) wrote, in part:

I assume the individual in question was a test pilot, and being a test
pilot wasn't merely his "day job". It just happened that his name was
the same as that of someone in the entertainment industry... no, not Don
Knotts, but he did portray *another* reluctant astronaut.

Although there are some celebrities who are also pilots... Arthur
Godfrey comes to mind...

And Jimmy Stewart, and IIRC Clark Gable.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

(Derek Lyons) wrote:
lid (John Savard) wrote:
Although there are some celebrities who are also pilots... Arthur
Godfrey comes to mind...

And Jimmy Stewart, and IIRC Clark Gable.

According to some sources, these are some other celebrities (and politicos)
who are (or were) licensed to fly aircraft:

Angelina Jolie
Harrison Ford
Tom Cruise
Patrick Swayze
John Travolta
Prince Andrew
Sarah Ferguson
Michael Dorn
Jimmy Buffet
John Denver
Kurt Russell
Sidney Pollack
Dustin Hoffman
Danny Glover
George W. Bush
George H. Bush
John Kerry
Tom Daschle
Warren Burger
Daniel Bloomberg
William F. Buckley
Cliff Robertson
Morgan Freeman
Gene Hackman
Clint Eastwood

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 06:42:26 -0000, in a place far, far away, Jim
Logajan made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:

(Derek Lyons) wrote:
lid (John Savard) wrote:
Although there are some celebrities who are also pilots... Arthur
Godfrey comes to mind...

And Jimmy Stewart, and IIRC Clark Gable.

According to some sources, these are some other celebrities (and politicos)
who are (or were) licensed to fly aircraft:

Angelina Jolie
Harrison Ford
Tom Cruise
Patrick Swayze
John Travolta
Prince Andrew
Sarah Ferguson
Michael Dorn
Jimmy Buffet
John Denver
Kurt Russell
Sidney Pollack
Dustin Hoffman
Danny Glover
George W. Bush
George H. Bush
John Kerry
Tom Daschle
Warren Burger
Daniel Bloomberg
William F. Buckley
Cliff Robertson
Morgan Freeman
Gene Hackman
Clint Eastwood

I can't speak to the rest of the list, but I doubt if either
presidents Bush have current FAA licenses (and perhaps never
did--being military pilots doesn't automatically grant a civil
license).

h (Rand Simberg) wrote:
I can't speak to the rest of the list, but I doubt if either
presidents Bush have current FAA licenses (and perhaps never
did--being military pilots doesn't automatically grant a civil
license).

You are probably correct. My initial intro statement had merely indicated
the people listed had, according to more than one source, piloted aircraft.
But I made the mistake of rewriting the intro to include "licensed" without
bothering to recheck the list to see if any names should be dropped. I'm
pretty sure, though, that John Denver no longer has a current FAA license.
;-)

In article ,
Derek Lyons wrote:
(John Savard) wrote:

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 17:40:09 GMT, lid
(John Savard) wrote, in part:

I assume the individual in question was a test pilot, and being a test
pilot wasn't merely his "day job". It just happened that his name was
the same as that of someone in the entertainment industry... no, not Don
Knotts, but he did portray *another* reluctant astronaut.

Although there are some celebrities who are also pilots... Arthur
Godfrey comes to mind...

And Jimmy Stewart, and IIRC Clark Gable.

Do published authors count?

Hal Clement apparently learned to fly before he learned to
drive. This allegedly gave him one or two odd habits while driving,
like reacting to obstacles by trying to gain altitude.

ISTR he was once asked at a con in Germany if he'd ever
been to the region before, to which he politely commented he'd
been near it, without explaining that the nearest he got a few
thousand feet up, in a bomber.

--
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http://www.livejournal.com/users/james_nicoll

In article ,
James Nicoll wrote:
Hal Clement...
ISTR he was once asked at a con in Germany if he'd ever
been to the region before, to which he politely commented he'd
been near it, without explaining that the nearest he got a few
thousand feet up, in a bomber.

Joe Allen, I think it was, told of a business trip to Japan with Max
Faget, after they both left NASA. Max had mentioned having seen Japan
many times, but in conversation on the plane, it transpired that he'd
never *been* there. "But you said you'd seen it many times!" "Sure,
through a periscope..."
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