 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note that this page, as well as the others that have "Extra" in their titles, are here to present images that would not fit on other pages because of limitations on page size. |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
— Joe H. Engle, U.S. Air Force — |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
||||
Joe with the X-15A-2 on 2 Oct. 2015. The aircraft was being moved to the new Hangar 4 at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. National Museum of the US Air Force |
|||||
Engle (standing at far right) graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School Class 61C. US Air Force |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
The B-52 mothership flies over Joe Engle in salute after landing his X-15. Joe is holding his helmet just to the right of the aircraft. Note the X-15 has the wingtip pods installed. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joe Engle is greeted by his wife and family after his first astronaut qualification flight on 29 Jun. 1965. author's collection |
Joe at the San Diego Air & Space Museum Legends of Flight installation on 1 Nov. 2015. San Diego Air and Space Museum |
Engle is honored with a giant sign in his hometown of Chapman, Kansas. author's collection |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
— William J. "Pete" Knight, U.S. Air Force — |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Pete Knight in his Air Force Dress Blues uniform, checking out a piece of equipment. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
Knight completes mission 3-64-95 on 17 Oct. 1967. This was the final successful mission of X-15 no. 3. It will be lost, killing pilot Mike Adams, on 15 Nov. 1967. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
||||
Pete's son William holds the Distinguished Flying Cross given to his father after he saved himself and X-15 no. 1 on 29 Jun. 1967, after a complete in-flight electrical failure during mission 1-73-126. Younger son David sits on his father's knee on the left. US Air Force |
|||||
Knight (left) with fellow X-20 pilots, in front of a large scale model of the Titan III. X-15 pilot Milt Thompson (next to Knight) was also chosen for the X-20 project. US Air Force |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
— Michael J. Adams, U.S. Air Force — |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mike Adams on the wing of his F-86 in Korea. author's collection |
Adams receives the Honts Trophy from the US Air Force. author's collection |
"The X-15 Rocket Plane" at the Mike Adams Memorial. photo by Robert Kline |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
||||||
A concrete patio that a teenaged Mike Adams helped to pour and form when he was working at Simms Hardware. Lance Simms collection |
||||||||
Original Adams Memorial surrounded by flags. author's collection |
Dedication Plaque for the Rod & Gun Club at Edwards AFB. photo by Willaim Simone |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Debris from the X-15 no. 3 crash site. Artifacts can still be found, even after more than half a century has passed. author's collection |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
— Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr., U.S. Air Force — |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Iven Kincheloe was the poster boy for the U.S. Air Force after becoming an ace in the Korean War, then a test pilot at Edwards AFB on the Bell X-2 program. He reached a record altitude of 126, 200 feet on 7 Sep. 1956 in this rocket plane. U.S. Air Force |
Kinch talks with fellow flight record holder Col. Horace A. Hanes next to the X-2. Hanes set the first FAI record for supersonic flight on 20 Aug. 1955 in an F-100 Super Sabre, reaching Mach 1.246, or 822.1 mph. The feat won Hanes the Mackay Trophy. U.S. Air Force |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Several hero poses for Kincheloe (above and below) in front of his record-breaking X-2. Kinch was the original primary pilot on the X-15, until he lost his life in an F-104 take-off accident on 26 Jul. 1958, less than three months before the X-15 rolled out. U.S. Air Force |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
— Multiple Pilots — |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
A rare image signed by half of the X-15's pilot cadre. (L-R) Robert Rushworth, Jack McKay, Forrest Petersen, Joe Walker, Neil Armstrong, and Robert White. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
Crossfield, and White in the White House Rose Garden on 20 Jul. 1962, after President Kennedy presented them the Collier Trophy. Walker and Petersen also received the award, but are not pictured. NASA Headquarters |
||||
President John F. Kennedy presents the Harmon Trophy to Scott Crossfield, Joe Walker, and Robert White on 28 Nov. 1961. NASA Headquarters |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||||||
Joe Engle and Milt Thompson in a press photo announcing their selection as X-15 pilots on 10 Jun. 1963. UPI |
||||||||
New X-15 pilots Pete Knight and Bill Dana in front of a very large X-15 model. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
The first four X-15 pilots: Petersen, Crossfield, White, and Walker. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
Crossfield, White, Walker, and Petersen link arms in front of B-52 no. 008. Robert White collection |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
(L-R) Armstrong, Walker, (unknown), McKay, Thompson, and Stan Butchart. They are standing in front of the X-1E at the NASA Flight Research Center. Armstrong Flight Research Center |
||||
Rushworth, Knight, and Engle (seated L-R) at a party in October 1965. Joe Engle collection |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|