Foil: 10 Panel: F100 Super Sabre Society Column: 4 Line: 56

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

Education
Civilian: Aeronautical Engineer (Northrop Aero Institute 1957)
3 years as Physics major at San Diego State and UCLA 1948-1951

Military: Pilot Training class 52F Hondo, Big Spring, TX
Units assigned (Dates - Unit - Aircraft)
May-July 1951 Basic Training- Lackland AFB, TX
Aug-Sept 1951 Line Flunky - Waco AFB, TX
Sept 1951-Mar 1952 Hondo AFB, TX - T6
Mar 1952-Sept 1952 Webb AFB, TX - T28 & T33
Sept - Dec 1952 Luke AFB, AZ - F84G Gunnery
Jan-Aug 1953 Taegu (K2), Korea - F84G 100 missions
Sept 1953-Sept 1955 4925 Test Group (Atomic), Kirtland AFB, NM F84C,D,E,F,G--F86E, F,H, T33, F100A, Also logged a little time in B25, B45, B57
Mar 1956-May 1957 California ANG, Van Nuys, CA F86A
May 1957-July 1958 New Mexico ANG, Kirtland AFB, NM F80C
Aug 1958 - Aug 1964 NMANG - F100A/F
Aug 1964 - Mar 1974 NMANG - F100C,D,F
Including June 1968 - June 1969 at Tuy Hoa AB, RVN, 249 Missions
Mar 1974 - Oct 1980 NMANG - A7D

Over 4000 hours almost entirely in single seat, single engine aircraft
Just short of 2200 hours in the F100

Comments: Some interesting things along the way:
Nov 8, 1952 - Involved in mid-air collision - bailed out after losing a wing.
I may have been the only 52F Class member to get 100 missions in Korea
June 1953 - I flew 5 missions on 15th, 4 on 16th, and 1 early on 17th - then weather.
February 12, 1954 - Dead sticked an F84F after losing all oil!
Sometime in 1955 - Took off in an F84F with a Mk7 shape, a 450 gal tank,
Two 230 gal tanks, and JATO - computed takeoff roll was over 10,000 ft.
Sometime in 1959 - landed F100A gear up - short between throttle and stick
Sometime in 1960's - landed F100C with nose wheel up and locked.

In my civilian life, I was a parachute design engineer, at Sandia National Lab, worked on nuclear weapons chutes and on the recovery system of the Space Shuttle Boosters.
Being a fighter pilot is one of the best things I ever did in my life.