Bill Dana, legendary NASA test pilot.
Dana flew the sleek, black aircraft 16 times, reaching a top speed of 3,897 mph and a peak altitude of 306,900 feet. He started flying the aircraft in 1965 and was the last man to fly it in 1968.
That “sleek, black aircraft” was the X-15. Dana earned astronaut wings for two of his X-15 flights.
Over Dana’s 48-year career, he flew more than 8,000 hours in more than 60 aircraft, including helicopters and wingless experimental rocket planes.
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2014 at 6:13 am and is filed under Clippings, Obits, Planes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Thank God it wasn’t Jose Jimenez!
Godspeed, Mr. Dana.
R.I.P.
gfa