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 commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force in December 1968 after earning an engineering degree at the University of Washington in Seattle. After graduating from UPT at Randolph AFB in 1969, I attended F-100 training and subsequently spent a year flying the F-100 at England AFB in Louisiana.
I then attended OV-10 school at Hurlburt Field, Florida and served a combat tour from NKP Thailand from 1971-1972 and returned to Hurlburt Field as an Instructor Pilot. In 1974 I was assigned to the 33rd TFW and 59th TFS at Eglin AFB and attended F-4 training with the 308th TFS at Homestead AFB. From 1976-1979 I was assigned to the 86th TFG and the 526th TFS at Ramstein AB, Germany and served as an IP and Flight Examiner in both air-to-air and air-to-ground roles.
After leaving the Air Force in 1979, I began flying at the Boeing Co. in Seattle and served as an Instructor Pilot in the B737, 747-400, B757/767 and B777. Eventually, I became Chief Pilot Flight Technical, then Chief Pilot Flight Training, and B777 Chief Pilot Technical and retired as Chief Pilot Research/Boeing in 2008.
In 2010 I returned as an Engineering Test Pilot, test flying the 737, 747-8 Freighter, 777, and the 787. Then retired again!
The flying skills I gained in the F-100 were measurably beneficial to my flying skills later in the F-4E and in Boeing airplanes throughout my aviation career.”
Bill Royce, has been a lifelong amateur photographer for over 50 years. His photography focuses primarily on street photography, but his body of work also includes numerous airplane images from his years as an Air Force pilot. As a teacher, Bill conducts periodic courses in Street Photography at Kenmore Camera, Kenmore, WA, addressing both the artistic and technical aspects.
In 2013 he was named a certified expert in Adobe Lightroom. A member of the LHSA – The International Leica Society, his work has been featured in the Viewfinder several times. Bill is active in the local Seattle photography scene, serving as Past-President for the Puget Sound Camera Club, from 2012-2014. In 2014 he participated in the Photographic Cultural Tour of Cuba.