posted 03-11-2011 06:58 PM               

I am heading to the Museum of Flight tomorrow to hear him speak, and hoping to add an autograph onto my Space Shuttle pinball machine while I'm at it... I will be patient, polite and friendly when waiting to ask. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if he said no, but am curious how non-ASF signing odds are with Hoot and if anyone has had any luck.

Is it rude to ask if Hoot would mind adding his mission STS numbers and then something like "STS-71 Atlantis - First shuttle to dock with Russian Mir space station and date"?

I only ask because I don't want to upset the men and women that I really admire and look up to. I would have had Hoot sign something for me at ASF 2010 but I didn't have anything worthwhile to spend the money or effort on. Now that Hoot is 50 miles from my house tomorrow, it makes it much easier to pick up my favorite Space Shuttle collectible and rendezvous it with him.

posted 03-13-2011 10:56 AM               

Autograph, pictures and question policy and attitude... One word: Exceptional

I had brought the main artwork glass from my Space Shuttle pinball machine with me hoping to have Hoot put his John Hancock on it. I didn't want to be greedy, but decided to have an 18x18 printed of Mir and Atlantis STS-71 in case he didn't mind doing two signatures. At the last minute I grab my signed Bruce McCandless MMU picture since Hoot took the photo and what the heck, maybe he wouldn't mind adding an inscription next to Bruce's... doesn't hurt to have them with me I figured.

After the talk by Gibson they announced autographs in the lobby and everyone flooded out. I patiently stood aside and watched the mayhem... Hoot was an A+ gentleman and very patient with whomever he was interacting with. He engaged in talking with every single person who spent the time to head over to see him. He happily added inscriptions and was very attentive to making everyone's collectibles look perfect! The guys in charge of the line announced a three item limit, WOW, just what I happened to have brought! I went with easy basic inscriptions since he provided all his attention free of charge to any and all visitors, and I didn't want to be 'that' guy.

I had my 18x18 MIR print signed in silver Sharpie, he signed my MMU pic next to Bruce and gave me the "NASA photo by Hooter" with a laugh. Then I pulled the beautiful glass Space Shuttle pinball part out and he signed it in a silver paint pen. Came out awesome! He asked if I wanted a picture, YES SIR!

We were commenting and joking about how crappy my Sharpie came out on the 18x18 (faded not solid). After standing aside and putting my stuff back away I decided that the silver did look light and would only be worse down the road. I waited until the line died down and got back in with my silver paint pen. Hoot was more than willing to go over the Sharpie with the paint pen and traced his signature, making sure it looked great when he was done!

posted 01-05-2013 11:17 AM               

I sent him a letter telling him what I didn't when I interviewed him for an article on Challenger's 25th anniversary: Thanks for a great presentation in 1988 or 1989 in Cooperstown, and I enclosed a photo of him then.

posted 06-16-2022 04:17 PM               

Hoot is, far and clear, the most open and available of all the ones I've ever met in person. I was lucky enough to spend the better part of a week with him at Space Camp a few years ago, and I didn't press him for autographs as I'd gotten one a year or two before. I did ask if he'd autograph one of the postcards of the shot he took of Bruce McCandless in the MMU, signed for a good pal of mine. He didn't hesitate a millisecond, even inscribing it with my friend's name and wrote, "photo by Hooter" before his name.

We even had a discussion about how he felt about astronauts making big money on their signatures and told a very entertaining story about a little girl who couldn't afford an autograph from Buzz Aldrin, so Hoot told Aldrin that she was related to Hoot, so she could get one for free (if I remember correctly, Hoot said Aldrin asked him later if they girl really WAS related to him or if Hoot had gotten over on him).

I tell people often that among all the high-profile people I've met in my lifetime, Hoot is at the top of the list of those who have earned the right to be as obnoxious as he wants to be (as Chuck Yeager always was), but he didn't go that route at all.

Not only is he one of the most accomplished pilots of all time, he's one the friendliest people I've ever known.