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
Larry Bustle is a native of Manatee County and is a graduate of Manatee County High School. He is married to the former Edie Stevenson and they have four grown children and two grandchildren.
Larry attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and, after graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. He received his pilot wings in 1958 at Webb AFB, TX, and enjoyed a distinguished career that included service as a fighter pilot and test pilot with over 3300 flying hours.
Mr. Bustle flew 130 combat missions in the F-4D Phantom II aircraft during the Vietnam War. For his service in Vietnam, he was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, nine Air Medals and the Purple Heart, among others. In 1967 he was awarded a Master of Science Degree in Astronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Institute of Technology, and in 1970 he graduated from the US Air Force Test Pilot School.
At Eglin AFB, FL he flew test missions on the Modular Guided Glide Bomb (MGGB) and numerous ECM pods and Air-to-Air Infrared Sensors. Later, he served in senior command positions in the Air Force and retired from the Air Force as a Colonel in 1984.
Mr. Bustle previously served seven years as the Mayor of Palmetto. On August 26, 2008, he was elected to the Manatee County Commission and on November 21, 2016, he retired after serving 8 years as Manatee County Commissioner representing District 1.
Commissioner Bustle served two years as Chairman of the Manatee County Commission. He previously served three consecutive years as Chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority. He is a past chairman of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Organization. Larry served three years as chairman of the Manatee County Public Safety Coordinating Council. Previously he served on the American Patriotism Celebration Task Force and the Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council Advisory Board. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the South Florida Museum and two terms as chair of the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization; he’s a former chairman of the Manatee Veterans Council.
He is also a past member of the Community Coalition on Homelessness and the Local School Readiness Coalition. Commissioner Bustle is a graduate of Leadership Florida Class XXIV.
