T O P I C R E V I E W |
Tykeanaut | I must confess that I was a little surprised yet pleased to see that Bill Anders is still flying privately at the age of 81. He looked in very good health indeed when interviewed on Professor Brian Cox's new BBC series "Human Universe." How many more Mercury, Gemini and Apollo-era astronauts still fly I wonder? Surely John Glenn has now retired? |
dabolton | I've always wondered how they feel once they lose the ability/option to fly high performance jets. They must feel a sense of loss. |
sts205cdr | John Glenn was still flying as of a few short years ago. I don't know about now, though. |
DeepSea | There used to be a clip on YouTube of Gene Cernan getting a back-seat ride, although I can't remember the aircraft. The pilot asks him what sort of flying he still gets up to, and he replies 'I'm doing a lot of flying in Lears.' |
Paul78zephyr | Does anyone know if Jim Lovell still flies his own plane? |
Chariot412 | Pretty sure Neil Armstong was recertified as a glider pilot in 2005 at 75 years old. Good chance he may have flown beyond then. Not sure if he flies private, but as of last month, Charlie Duke still flies a great stick when thermaling in a sailplane. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo | Didn't Borman fly his own plane to one of the Novaspace signings? |
NovaRob | Borman still flies his plane, although for this year's Novaspace signing, bad weather forced him to fly commercial. |
eurospace | There is a website listing all pilot licenses, so you can check the names one by one, if you want. I am rather surprised how many astronauts in their 60s I do not actually find listed any more... |
Tykeanaut | I guess it's what's wrong with you rather than your age. |
dabolton | You'd think that legendary pilots (Glenn, Yeager, etc) would be issued a non-flying lifetime license. An honorary license so to speak. |
David C | I'd think that one of the last things Yeager would want is his name on a civilian license, given his vocal opinions on civilian pilots.
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dabolton | So a military pilot is issued a separate license from civilian FAA? Maybe would that explain why some astronauts may not be searchable. |
Kite | I remember asking Al Worden a couple or so years ago if he still flew and he replied "Not as much as I'd like to". |
ejectr | If you are going to fly civilian aircraft, you need a civilian license. A military ability to fly does not cut the ice with the FAA. I knew a C5 pilot who had to get his military experience converted over to a civilian license so he could fly for CVS. |