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This Day in History – June 10, 1969 – The X-15 gets a place in history

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

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Gommel, Hugh E.

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  • Gommel, Hugh E.

Hugh E. Gommel

Preferred Name: Hugh
Nickname/Call Sign: Hugo
Date of Birth: May 31, 1943
Highest Military Grade: Select
Biography
Pilot Information
Album

Hugh Gommel flew the F-100 from 1968-1969 with the 531st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bien Hoa AB, Vietnam.

He is a principal at HG Hangar One, LLC.  His bio on their website reads: “Being the oldest son of a WW2 B-29 pilot, Hugh discovered his own love of aviation in 1962 as a USAF Academy cadet. After graduation in 1966, he embarked on a fifty-four-year professional aviation career flying USAF fighters for 23 years, and later, Northwest Airlines big iron commercial jets for 17 years.

Hugh’s career began at Bien Hoa Air Base, VN, flying 222 combat missions in the F-100 and later flying and instructing worldwide in the F-4, F-104, F-5 and F-16 aircraft. He also had a four-year tour at the Pentagon as the Tactical Fighter Force Program Manager where he was directly involved in the procurement, growth, modernization and bed down of the worldwide fighter force.

In 2006, Hugh transitioned to general aviation providing private transportation and flight instruction focused on the family of Cirrus aircraft. In 2017, he and his wife, Sandra, moved to Colorado to live near seven of their nine grandchildren. Hugh hopes to expose and instruct all of them to the challenges and joys of aviation.

Once in the Denver area, Hugh discovered the high demand for private hangars and teamed with Craig Rathbun to form HG Hangar One. Having been directly involved in an eighty-private-hangar development in NV, he jumped at the opportunity to build hangars and meet more pilots at the Colorado Air And Space Port. Hugh and his two sons, Mike and Josh, fly a Cirrus SR22, and hope the oldest granddaughter, Dylan, will join them soon.

Hugh loves skiing, golf, fly fishing, bridge and cooking almost as much as family, flying and life’s blessings.” (1)

Source: (1) © 2020 HG Hangar One, LLC

Units Assigned

  • 1962 USAF Academy cadet
  • 1968-1969 531st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bien Hoa AB, Vietnam (F-100 -222 combat missions)
  • 1969-1971 492nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Lakenheath RAFB, England

Awards & Decorations

Flight Info

F-100
F-4
F-104
F-5
F-16

Military & Civilian Education

Military Education:

  • USAF Academy

Civilian Education:

  • University of Southern California

Photo from HangarOne LLC
Album Slideshow
Slideshow
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Wall of Honor Location

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