The Rest of the Story
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B-58 |
Every
first flight in a new airplane was a special
time, no matter how many I faced, but each
experience made me more comfortable in
the next. My last tour of duty at
the Air Force Flight Test Center had added
to those opportunities a great deal. Just
a few days before I departed, Fitz Fulton
was kind enough to allow me to fly an entire
flight just for my pleasure in the exciting
Mach 2 bomber, the B-58.
It
was a special feeling of wonder and accomplishment,
to fly in a bomber with such excellent
fell and response, and exceptional performance.
I had flown a number of civil aircraft,
and would, in my next assignment test/evaluate
a few specially modified ones for limited
war use. However, I would make only one
more first-time flight in an Air Force
airplane after leaving Edwards, but that
one would be a gem, the F-105D Thunder
Chief, which filled my card with all the
Century Aircraft except the F-111. At
the end of my career, I had flown 55 distinct
military aircraft, excluding similar models,
to which I would later add a 56th,
the Army Apache helicopter. Of these
20 were fighters, 6 bombers, 10 cargo,
9 helicopters and 1 jet/rocket; and 10
trainers and utility. All were jet
powered except for 16 propeller-driven
and two turbo-props and one jet/rocket. Of
these two were U.S. Navy and four were
British, the rest U.S. Air Force.
Military Aircraft Flown
- 58 Unique Types |
Fighters |
P-51, F-4,
F-5, F-80, F-84, F-84F, F-86, F-86H,
F-89, F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104,
F-105,
F-106, A-4 (Navy), Meteor (British),
Hunter (British),
YAT-28, & YAT-37 |
Bombers |
B-25,
B-26, B-47, B-50, B-58 and Canberra (British) |
Cargo |
C-45,
C-47, C-54, C-118, C-123, C-130, C-131,
C-133, C-141, & KC-135. |
Trainer |
T-6,
T-28, T-29, T-33, T-37, T-38, T-39,
T-2V (Navy), & Chipmunk (British) |
Helicopter |
UH-1,
H-13, -19, -21, CH-3, CH-47, XH-51, & APACHE
(Army) |
Utility |
U-3,
L-20, U-6 |
Other |
NF-104A,
Aerospace Trainer, Jet/Rocket |
I
found a great deal of pleasure over those
years in flying the number of varied military
aircraft listed below, each with its own
special uniqueness. And I was to
save the excitement and pleasure of the
F-105, still ahead of me, for my most exciting
period of all.
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