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  X-15 Program Patch

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Author Topic:   X-15 Program Patch
GoesTo11
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Posts: 644
From: Denver, CO USA
Registered: Jun 2004

posted March 10, 2009 01:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GoesTo11   Click Here to Email GoesTo11     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I can't believe this hasn't come up here before, but a search of the forum didn't turn up anything... can anyone tell me if there was an insignia, official or otherwise, for the X-15 program?

On page 35 of Jenkins' and Landis' "Hypersonic" there is a small illustration of a "program patch," with no information or elaboration. I'd never seen it before, and can't locate any period photos showing anyone wearing it. Can anyone tell me anything about this emblem, or any other vintage patch specific to the X-15 project? Thanks!

E2M Lem Man
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Posts: 757
From: Los Angeles CA. USA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted March 10, 2009 07:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for E2M Lem Man     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Dennis has it right. There are a few photos kicking around showing the patch (see Dennis' and Tony's books "Hypersonic" and "the X-15 Scrapbook"). There was another one that appeared to look down at the X-15 that Michelle Evans designed, but that came out years later and was not an official patch. It can be found on eBay.

FFrench
Member

Posts: 3002
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted March 10, 2009 09:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by E2M Lem Man:
There was another one that appeared to look down at the X-15 that Michelle Evans designed, but that came out years later and was not an offical patch.

That design can be seen here.

KSCartist
Member

Posts: 2300
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005

posted March 11, 2009 08:15 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for KSCartist   Click Here to Email KSCartist     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
At the risk of spraining my arm to pat myself on the back, I've also designed an X-15 patch.

You can see it on this thread. There's a few still available.

By the way, Michelle's is a great design!

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 784
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted November 24, 2010 10:11 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Does anyone know where I could get one of the X-15 patches that used to show up on eBay? (I have the Tim Gagnon program patch.) There were two designs that I remember seeing and one design is available as a pin. The other featured a top view of the craft with brightly colored exhaust on a black delta-shaped background.

x15gal
New Member

Posts: 1
From: Lake Forest, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 2010

posted November 24, 2010 01:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for x15gal   Click Here to Email x15gal     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have not been on collectSPACE for a while, but Francis mentioned the talk about X-15 patches, so he suggested I chime in.

First, I must say that Tim did a wonderful job on his X-15 commemorative patch. His skills are exceptional.

The story on the patch that I designed is that during my research on the program, I always asked all those I interviewed if anyone had ever seen a patch. Not one person said that there was a X-15 patch done at the time of the program. Because of that, I decided to sit down and design my own.

Not long after I did that, one of the guys I was interviewing said that he did have a patch, and showed me a copy of the round green patch with the X-15 rising above the Earth. From everything I was able to discover about this patch, it was something that came along well after the program was completed, but it obviously pre-dates mine by some unknown number of years (mine was designed in 1986).

(If anyone can find a photo, or other info, that shows the patch in use during the actual program, it would be greatly appreciated.)

As for my patch, it is not available for sale currently. I have seen someone selling knock-offs of my patch on eBay which were not authorized by me. I asked him to quit selling them without my permission, and as far as I know, he has kept his word to do so.

The only time it was legally commercially available was when it was being sold at Thomas Aviation, which has long since stopped business. If there is ever enough interest to warrant selling them again, I would love to have them professionally done again and made available, but I have never seen enough interest to make it viable to go that route.

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 784
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted November 26, 2010 10:27 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I would purchase 3 or 4.

robsouth
Member

Posts: 551
From: West Midlands, UK
Registered: Jun 2005

posted November 26, 2010 06:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for robsouth     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Here's my design for the X-15 patch.

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 784
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted November 26, 2010 06:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That's pretty cool.

robsouth
Member

Posts: 551
From: West Midlands, UK
Registered: Jun 2005

posted November 26, 2010 06:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for robsouth     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very kind of you to say so. I think that simpler designs, like the Apollo 8 patch, tell the story in a much better way. I hope my patch captures what patches looked like back in the 60's. The X-15 leaving the round edge of the patch is similar to the Shuttle on the STS-2 patch.

X-Plane Fan
Member

Posts: 67
From: CA, USA
Registered: Jul 2007

posted December 03, 2010 06:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for X-Plane Fan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Actually the original X-15 patch was created back when the X-15 program was active. To my knowledge it was produced in very low numbers (probably less than a dozen).

The only one I've seen that was actually worn was on the jacket of a PSD technician that appears in photos with pilots of the X-15, SR-71 and NF-104 to name a few. Here's a shot taken with Bob Gilliland after the first or second flight of the SR-71A in 1964/65.

albatron
Member

Posts: 1933
From: Stuart, Florida, USA
Registered: Jun 2000

posted December 03, 2010 10:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for albatron   Click Here to Email albatron     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Interesting Tony - thanks. I wasn't aware of that one. Any idea who the USAF guy with Bob G. is?

Philip
Member

Posts: 4495
From: Brussels, BELGIUM
Registered: Jan 2001

posted December 04, 2010 03:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Philip   Click Here to Email Philip     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Major...

Kevmac
Member

Posts: 173
From: College Station, TX
Registered: Apr 2003

posted December 04, 2010 09:10 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Kevmac   Click Here to Email Kevmac     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Anyone... anyone...

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 784
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted December 06, 2010 07:35 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That photo seems to answer the question of whether or not X-15 patches existed during the program.

spaced out
Member

Posts: 2223
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted December 06, 2010 09:15 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaced out   Click Here to Email spaced out     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Maybe that's someone's home-made attempt at a project patch, or maybe it's an unofficial patch someone had made in small numbers.

In any case now that I've seen a photo of it I can understand why it apparently wasn't very popular with pilots or project members at the time.

lucspace
Member

Posts: 224
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003

posted December 06, 2010 12:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for lucspace   Click Here to Email lucspace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This reproduction of the vintage patch (eBay) now turns out to be not very accurate in design or colours. It is not a thing of much beauty, but... could this be another 'accurate reproduction' project starting?

NAPO99
New Member

Posts: 2
From: Buenos aires
Registered: Aug 2009

posted March 04, 2011 12:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NAPO99   Click Here to Email NAPO99     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Somewhere I've got a photo of the same Major, walking with another pilot wearing the same flight jacket.

But I cant remember where I saw it.

capoetc
Member

Posts: 1520
From: Newnan GA (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005

posted March 04, 2011 08:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for capoetc   Click Here to Email capoetc     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
When a program has so few pilots, you really don't need a patch to identify the members of the unit ...

X-Plane Fan
Member

Posts: 67
From: CA, USA
Registered: Jul 2007

posted March 06, 2011 03:34 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for X-Plane Fan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Is this the shot you're thinking of?

lucspace
Member

Posts: 224
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003

posted November 24, 2011 02:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for lucspace   Click Here to Email lucspace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Is the design shown in 'Hypersonic' and the 'X-15 scrapbook' the same that Major Richardson in wearing in the two photos? Could anyone mail me scans of the designs in those books?

I am trying to reconstruct the patch and am unsure about the stars, as shown in the modern reproduction.

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