See the National Air and Space Society 2017 Vice Adm. Donald D. Engen Flight Jacket Night lecture featuring pilot and astronaut Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson.
Described by Air & Space magazine as “The Man Who’s Flown Everything,” Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson has logged over 14,000 hours in 150 types of civil and military aircraft. After an exceptional career as a naval aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, he raced for 18 years at the annual Reno Air Races, winning the Unlimited Championship in 2015. A Top Gun graduate, he is a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions, serving as commander on four of them. In addition, he served as Chief of the Astronaut Office and as Deputy Director, Flight Crew Operations at NASA. After he left NASA, he served as a pilot for Southwest Airlines for ten years. He has been married to fellow astronaut Dr. M. Rhea Sheddon since 1981.