24 September 1965 – Major Martin W. Barbena is on a mission over SVN when his aircraft, F-100 #562923 is hit by gunfire. Barbena ejects and his parachute gets tangled in a group of 20′ trees. He is rescued uninjured by an HH-43F Helicopter nicknamed “Pedro” piloted by A1C Bill Pitsenbarger. The Helo hovered over the trees and pulled Martin into the chopper.
Today in History – July 26, 1998 – Burt Rutan launches first flight of the Scaled Composites Proteus
26 July 1998 – Burt Rutan’s “Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to carry various payloads on a ventral pylon. The Proteus has an extremely efficient design,