Free Republic

The B-58 Hustler was the world's first supersonic jet bomber, a delta-winged marvel of Cold War design created in the 1950s solely to deliver nuclear weapons to the U.S.S.R. And the "pilot" used to test the capsule ejection system was a live bear.

The B-58 Hustler, the Air Force's first operational supersonic bomber, was capable of traveling twice the speed of sound, and it even "beat the sun" on a record-setting trip across the country from east to west. A cutting-edge aircraft with a futuristic look, the bomber was described as a "joy to fly" by those who took her controls. Pilot Beryl Erikson said, "If I was offered a chance to fly to heaven in a B-58, I would." Erikson and four others of those men who helped bring the B-58s into service and prove their worth were honored Friday by the...

They may not be as sexy as their sleek brethren in the fighter corps, but the fast and heavy-duty bombers of the last 60 years have earned their own admirers. Bombers such as the B-29, B-58, B-52 and XB-70 have carved their own niche in aviation history. Four pilots of these aircraft shared their experiences recently at the Society of Experimental Test Pilots annual symposium. Without their "mother ship" carrier aircraft - the B-29 and B-52 bombers - such groundbreaking aircraft as the X-1, X-15 and lifting bodies would never have gotten airborne. Stan Butchart was a single-engine pilot when...

They are among the most recognizable aircraft in the world: U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, B-2 stealth bomber and F-117 stealth fighter. But in the beginning, few outside the cloistered world of their development knew of their existence. There were rumors of strange black shapes in the skies over Area 51 in Nevada's desert. But not even the families of those who designed, built and flew these top-secret machines knew what was really taking shape. Now, many of the tales of those "black world" airplanes can be told. Six pilots from those programs shared their stories recently at the Society of Experimental...

LANCASTER - He has flown 240 different kinds of aircraft, logging 16,700 hours of flight time while setting records and performing test piloting feats that are the "right stuff" of aviation history. Contrary to the popular image of high-flying test pilots, however, the one thing that everyone who has met Fitzhugh "Fitz" Fulton notes is his courtly "Southern gentleman" manner. Despite his many noteworthy accomplishments and awards, Fulton remains "so humble," said Paula Smith, executive director of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. "He always seems surprised when someone honors him." Fulton's already long list of awards was lengthened recently...