Foil: 13 Panel: 4 Column: 3 Line: 113

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

Mr. Rick Cotton enlisted in the U.S. Navy V-5 College Training Program in 1945. After over three years of Engineering College and Flight Training as an Flying Midshipman, he was designated a Naval Aviator in 1948 and was assigned to VP-33, one of the Navy's last seaplane squadrons, flying the Martin PBM-5A. Following three years service during the Korean War as an Acceptance Test and Delivery Pilot, flying more than 22, then current, types of Navy aircraft, he was released in to inactive duty in 1953. He flew with several Reserve Squadrons until 1963 then joined the retired reserve as a LCDR USNR. After only two years as an American Airlines First Officer [lots of seasonal lay-offs], Cotton in 1954 started a 35 year Aerospace Career with The Glenn L. Martin Co., The Ryan Aeronautical Co., North American Aviation and Rockwell International as a Production, Engineering, and Experimental Test Pilot and Marketing Executive retiring in 1989.