10 June 1969: The U.S. Air Force donated the first North American Aviation X-15, serial number 56-6670, to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Air and Space Museum. The first of three X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes built by North American for the Air Force and the National Advisory Committee (NACA, the predecessor of NASA), 56-6670 made the first glide flight and
“I was raised in Cordova, Alaska and retired in Tucson, Arizona It was great! 5050 hours at the controls (1750 in the Hun). I worked closely with Army, Navy, Marines, NATO, CIA, DIA, DEA and a couple of other 3-letter companies. Even the staff jobs provided some fun.
We moved to Tucson in 1994; bought a motorhome & traveled until we got tired. We sold the motorhome and I came out of retirement to take a job as the Director of Operations of NextMed, a national medical services firm headquartered here in Tucson.
Retired again in 2006 and get my kicks now spending weekends in the 14 prison yards that surround Tucson, working in Chuck Colson’s (of Watergate fame) Prison Fellowship Ministry.
Maybe I’ll see some of you guys there.”
