Not a Space Shuttle Door Gunner but an actual pilot

[Bailey Guns]

Awesome story. Some friends of mine lived down the street from Bruce McCandless (retired Austronaut from the Shuttle era) in Conifer. And I have many friends/family who knew Jeff Ashby (he and I graduated from the same High School- albeit 30-some years apart).

NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless, the first person to fly freely and untethered in space, has died. He was 80. - ABC News

Sorry for the thread jack. But McCandless, like Engle, was another guy with the right stuff. Our lives are much better because of people like these two men.

[wctriumph]

Awesome!
I remember the X-15. When I was growing up in SoCal, next to LAX, there was a aircraft manufacturer called North American Aviation with a big neon sign that said "Home of the X-15".

[Alpha2]

Awesome!
I remember the X-15. When I was growing up in SoCal, next to LAX, there was a aircraft manufacturer called North American Aviation with a big neon sign that said "Home of the X-15".

Growing up in SoCal, sonic booms were a way of life. We just assumed they happened everywhere, and always had.

[wctriumph]

Growing up in SoCal, sonic booms were a way of life. We just assumed they happened everywhere, and always had.

LAX on one side and not so far away was Hughes Aircraft and there were always F4 Phantoms flying out of there and yes, sonic booms were just always a part of life, you could hear them several times a week. The wop wop wop of Huey helicopters was a sound we always heard too. High up in the sky were the contrails of the B52 bombers heading north and west. Yes, I'm that old.

[XJ]

If he comes into your store again, please ask for a recorded interview. There are surely some Scouts or other kids who would greatly benefit from the experience.

[Zundfolge]

He's actually given a few interviews and lectures. Here's one I stumbled across on YouTube (and there's others).

[spqrzilla]

Yep, Engle is the real deal.

[Aloha_Shooter]

I got to meet Gen Engle and others this summer at Space Fest in Tucson. He is an amazing -- and amazingly humble -- man. I hadn't realized he'd moved to the Springs.

[Irving]

I've never in my life heard a sonic boom, but would really like to.

[Gman]

I grew up in SoCal in the early '70s (and have the lungs to prove it...SMOG ALERT!!!). We were also able to see Nixon going to his home in San Clemente, rocket launches from Vandenberg and the Blue Angels practicing.

'twas interesting times for aviation and the space race.