We just returned from the Saturday Reflections program at the SETP event held at Disneyland. I had more fun than if I got to go to Disneyland and the Spearmint Rhino.This is the 2nd time I've attended this event, I'm so blown away by the quality of people who attend and it gives me hope for the future of this country.
The program consisted of 7 topics on different aircraft, with most of them being about programs from the 1940's - 1970's. The topics presented were:
Prototyping a Lunar Lander: The LLRV and LLTV Projects
Neil Armstrong (F)
Crossing the Boundary: The DeHavilland DH-108 Swallow
Eric M. Brown (HF), Capt, RN (Ret)
Competitive Prototyping: The YC-14 and YC-15
Floyd B. Stroup (F)
First of the V Bombers: The AVRO Vulcan
Tony Blackman (F)
Flight Testing the XB-47 Stratojet
Richard W. Taylor (F)
Reverse Prototyping: The Me-262 Sturmvogel
Horst Philipp (M)
A Prototype for Prototypes: The Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA)
G. Warren Hall (F), NASA
The room was packed and my little boy Dylan & I were able to get 2 seats dead center and upfront. Neil Armstrong was first to speak, I videotaped his entire presentation and when I have a chance to download it, I'll make it avail. Neil spoke about the LLRV & LLTV, it was accompanied with film on a large screen and some still photos. As always his speech was great with some personal stories, including punching out of the LLTV. He was given a standing ovation at the end of his presentation.
There were 3 other presenters in rapid succession that spoke about the aircraft they test piloted and everyone of them was outstanding. The British test pilots were incredible, they spoke about their experiences from the battle of Britan and other WW2 combat experiences to some death defying events. The test pilot stories for the Vulcan are enough to curl your hair. Eric Brown who gave the DH-108 presentation has flown 487 different types of aircraft since the 1930's and these types of men are no more and they will never be again. He was shocked that anyone would want his autograph.
During a break, a bunch of us made a beeline towards NA for a handshake, a photo, a lock of hair, some DNA and an autograph. I was able to get NA to sign 2 items for me...........NOT !!!! (that one's for Doug). At this point, I don't care about getting his autograph because it's a great time just seeing him again and I just wanted to have my son take a picture with NA.
As always NA was extremely gracious, even when he refused to sign an autograph for a 12 year old boy, but he shook his hand, took a photo with him, then called security to have the kid thrown out of the event. LOL.
I brought along a 1968 Stetson cowboy hat that NA signed, along with Conrad, Slayton & Cooper, that was given by LBJ to Texas legislator Criss Cole for his support of the space program. I asked NA if he remembered signing cowboy hats for LBJ or if this was a rare practice, but he didn't remember. I then introduced my son Dylan, they shook hands and a very nice USMC Capt took our photo and I took a photo of his family with NA.
Everyone was very polite, about 15% of the people were civilians, 40% military in uniform and the rest were contractors, so you'd expect the crowd to be well behaved.
NA was as classy as ever, greeting everyone with a handshake, a hello and a kind word, then took photos with anyone who asked. The thing that really impressed me was that NA listened to every word from every presenter. He was sitting in front of me, so it was difficult for me not to see him and he was attentive to everyone. You can tell that he's an engineer at heart and he related to all of the speakers.
Another amazing speaker was Horst Phillip who reverse engineered the ME-262 that is on the internet. The dedication and hard work he put into building this extraordinary aircract is astounding and his speech was excellent.
The greatest thing about this event is the people you unexpectedly run into. We got to meet Bill Dana of X-15 fame, Mike Melville, Dick Rutan, Doug Shane, Fitz Fulton and when I turned around, I ran into Bob Crippen. I've always been a big fan of Crippen since meeting him at Edwards in the late 70's. He's such a great guy, he's as nice as anyone I've ever met and he started chatting away with my Dylan. He happily took a photo with my boy and signed my SETP book from 1977 with lots of older test pilots signatures.
The most interesting guys I got to speak with was Jim Rider & Bob Ettinger who flew U2's and first F-16 flight. Jim Rider was with Bob and was test pilot for the YF-16 & YF_17, plus he also helped develop the F-104N. Jim told me a very detailed story about Chuck Yeagers 104N flight, where the aircraft was destroyed in the famous scene from "The Right Stuff". I won't go into details, but suffice it to say it wasn't flattering to the driver.
The only drawback to attending this event is that I spend all my time looking at everyone's badge to see who they are. I feel bad when I don't recognize these test pilots and it reminds me of that scene in The Right Stuff, where the Texas contractor says to Alan Shepard, "Which one is Glenn, he's the one I want to meet". How could anyone be so callous to a national hero like these guys ???
Everytime I spot a name I know, I say hello and they're surprised that anyone knows of or cares about them. To me these events are a chance to meet some truly brave men, who put their lives on the line to develop the greatest aircraft in the world. Their legacy is a quiet one, but it was and is so vitally important to this country. These guys are not going to be around much longer and never again in history, will men like this walk the earth. It's sad to think that their era is coming to a rapid end.
Sorry for the long post, but I could have gone on for another 5 pages. If you ever have a chance to attend one of these SETP events, don't miss it.
Ray