[CougarGA7]

I thought so.

A have a story about the X-1.

I’ve been doing a lot of business trips to Maryland over the last year. On one of these trips about a month ago I ended up staying over the weekend so I decided to go down to DC and proceeded to spend 10 hours in the Smithonian Air and Space Museum.

I have always been facinated with that time in history, breaking the sound barrier, the space race, ect. So there I am standing underneath the Glamorous Glennis. All of a sudden I’m 12 years old again. My heart is racing, I’m in complete awe. So of course I call my wife.

Mrs Cougar: “Hello”
Me: “You won’t believe what I’m standing under.”
Mrs Cougar: “What?”
Me: “The Glamorous Glennis!!”
Mrs Cougar: (long pause) “So?”
Me: “So?...It’s the Glamorous Glennis. The Bell X-1. The plane that Yeagar broke the sound barrier in. If I could jump high enough I could touch it...I want to touch it. But I’m right underneath it!”
Mrs Cougar: (long pause) “I’ve seen the Ruby Slippers.”
Me: “Really? I haven’t seen that movie.”
Mrs Cougar: (click)

[drew]

I’ve got to get to DC to see it. I think I’d have the same reaction, and, hopefully, my significant other would be a little more excited. Cheers!

[tanknetter]

A have a story about the X-1.

Here's mine:

A few years ago NASM had a special event at the Mall museum and invited the local scale modelling clubs to come in and set up a display. I was deeply honored and humbled in being one of the members able to take part.

We were set up with a series of tables near the South entrance to the museum, right underneath the starboard wing of the Rutan Voyager aircraft. I'd brought in about 20 of my aircraft, which are predominantly military and run from just pre-WWII to the present day. Included was my X-1, which, with it's international orange paint job, really stood out from all the greens and grays of the other aircraft.

A group of Boy Scouts came up and was admiring our work, and one of them pointed to my X-1 and said "that one's really cool, I've never seen it before, what is it?". I responded by pointing up and to my left (a view, btw, that is now blocked by the addition of SpaceShipOne) and said "take a look up there". The popped-eye/dropped jaw look on the kid's face was absolutely priceless ...