Free Republic

Test pilot Joe Walker was killed June 8, 1966, when his F-104 chase plane collided in midair with an XB-70 supersonic bomber during a formation flight for a publicity photo. The catastrophic accident took the life of the top NASA test pilot, who earned astronaut wings by piloting the X-15 into space three times, as well as that of Air Force Maj. Carl Cross, one of two pilots of the XB-70. Thursday, on the 40th anniversary of that fateful flight, Walker's son and other admirers visited the crash site in a remote portion of the Mojave Desert to pay their...

For 16 years, Aviation Week & Space Technology has investigated myriad sightings of a two-stage-to-orbit system that could place a small military spaceplane in orbit. Considerable evidence supports the existence of such a highly classified system, and top Pentagon officials have hinted that it's "out there," but iron-clad confirmation that meets AW&ST standards has remained elusive. Now facing the possibility that this innovative "Blackstar" system may have been shelved, we elected to share what we've learned about it with our readers, rather than let an intriguing technological breakthrough vanish into "black world" history, known to only a few insiders. U.S....

SPACEPLANE SHELVED? For 16 years, Aviation Week & Space Technology has investigated myriad sightings of a two-stage-to-orbit system that could place a small military spaceplane in orbit. Considerable evidence supports the existence of such a highly classified system, and top Pentagon officials have hinted that it's "out there," but iron-clad confirmation that meets AW&ST standards has remained elusive. Now facing the possibility that this innovative "Blackstar" system may have been shelved, we elected to share what we've learned about it with our readers, rather than let an intriguing technological breakthrough vanish into "black world" history, known to only a few...

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...

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...