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
“Although not a high time F-100 guy like those I read about in “The Intake”, I will always count it a privilege and honor to have flown and fought in that wonderful airplane. While obviously most of my fighter time is in the F-111, a wonderfully capable jet, even more capable in some arenas than anything we currently have flying, it was not a “fighter pilot’s” airplane, like the F-100.
I was certainly sorry to take my last flight in the F-111, but I believe I almost cried (did) after my last flight in the “Hun”. I appreciate what you are doing to keep her memory alive. Far too often she is not even mentioned when history looks back at the Vietnam War, the Cold War, Europe, “special” alerts, etc.”
