From: Greg Boone <Evolbaby.nul>
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 17:35:47 EDT
Fwd Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 16:01:43 -0400
Subject: Any 'Unsung' Heroes In Ufology?


The Unsung Heroes Of Aviation & Space Flight...

Any 'Unsung' Heroes In Ufology?

Well, in my secret identity I'm also an aircraft, space flight
afficianado. I've noticed many posts here about our space
programs and astronauts.

So one fellow I asked about the 'unsung' heroes of these fields
is good ol' Al Bowers of NASA. He then put up a list of people
he felt deserved the recognition of the public. His list brought
back memories of when I was a kid meeting astronauts and pilots
and ground technicians and such. Brought a tear to m' eye. Back
then it was common to have rubbed elbows with some of these
folks and if you're lucky you can run into some of the
contemporaries at shows or conventions. Many of these folks
still around are probably fans of your works. Take some time at
your next convention to say howdy and double check those fan
letters.

Al's List:


Mark Drela: who's developed and forgotten more techgnology than
I will ever know

Bruce Carmichael: for lifetime accomplishment in laminar flow

Peter Selinger: who is the walking soaring encyclopedia

Ilan Kroo: mentor to the future

Mike Selig: for drive in airfoil development

Dan Somers/Richard Eppler/FX Wortman/Dieter Althaus: airfoil
development

Paul MacCready: for knowing what to do from all the crazy ideas
he has

John McMasters: trying to make sense of outrageous ideas

Ludwig Prandtl: for turning aeronautics into the science it is
today

RT Jones: America's mad scientist

The Schweizer brothers: for making soaring available to the
common American

Mike Riggs: for the first production high aspect ratio hang
gliders

The Horten brothers: duh

Jack Northrop: belief in the way the future should be

Mark Maughmer: chair to the International Sailplane Development
Panel

John Bosworth: flight research engineer to over 800 X-plane
missions (and who hasn't gotten a promotion in over a decade for
his contribution)

Gary Krier: research test pilot of the FIRST digital fly-by-wire
aircraft (talk about courage!)

Mark "Forger" Stucky: flying everything from hang gliders to the
SR-71A including the F-18 HARV and the Eclipse F-106 aero-tow
inbetween

Col Joe Kittinger: for development of bailout techniques upto
103,000 ft msl

The Wright brothers: duh

Col Joe Lanni: chief test pilot of the F/A-22 and wing commander
at Edwards AFB

John Young: going to the Moon TWICE

Gene Cernan: going to the Moon TWICE

Jim Lovell: going to the Moon TWICE and doing it the hard way
one time

Dick Ewers: NASA Research pilot who flew Vietnam, the first gulf
War, and has walked away from TWO crashes and still takes time
to talk to the Boy Scouts

Joe Wilson: NASA (ret) for his wealth of knowledge of handling
qualities

Joe Pahle: NASA engineer and researcher of 20+ years in
controls, and Sunday school teacher

Vance Brand: astronaut and friend, who thinks everyone is better
than he is

Gordon Fullerton: who made the transition from test pilot to
astronaut and back


Another short list:

Freedom 7 05may61 Shepard
Libert Bell 7 21jul61 Grissom

Friendship 7 20feb62 Glenn
Aurora 7 24may62 Carpenter
Sigma 7 03oct62 Schirra
Faith 7 15may63 Cooper


Gemini 3 23mar65 Grissom Young
Gemini 4 03jun65 McDivitt White
Gemini 5 21aug65 Cooper Conrad
Gemini 6A 15dec65 Schirra Stafford
Gemini 7 04dec65 Borman Lovell
Gemini 8 15mar66 Armstrong Scott
Gemini 9A 03jun66 Stafford Cernan
Gemini 10 18jul66 Young Collins
Gemini 11 12sep66 Conrad Gordon
Gemini 12 11nov66 Lovell Aldrin


Apollo 7 11oct68 Schirra Eile Cunningham
Apollo 8 21dec68 Borman Lovell Anders
Apollo 9 03mar69 McDivitt Scott Schweickhart
Apollo 10 18may69 Stafford Young Cernan
Apollo 11 16jul69 Armstrong Collins Aldrin
Apollo 12 14nov69 Conrad Gordon Bean
Apollo 13 11apr70 Lovell Swigert Haise
Apollo 14 31jan71 Shepard Roosa Mitchell
Apollo 15 26jul71 Scott Wordon Irwin
Apollo 16 16apr72 Young Mattingly Duke
Apollo 17 07dec72 Cernan Evans Schmitt

Skylab 2 25may73 Conrad Kerwin Weitz
Skylab 3 28jul73 Bean Garriot Lousma
Skylab 4 16nov73 Carr Gibson Pogue

Apollo Soyuz 15jul75 Stafford Brand Slayton


STS-1 Columbia 12apr81 Young Crippen
STS-2 Columbia 12nov81 Engle Truly
STS-3 Columbia 22mar82 Lousma Fullerton
STS-4 Columbia 27jun82 Mattingly Hartsfield
STS-5 Columbia 11nov82 Brand Overmeyer Allen Lenoir

STS-51l Challenger 29jan86 Scobee Smith Resnik Onizuka McNair
Jarvis McAuliffe

STS-107 Columbia 16jan03 Husband McCool Chawla Anderson Brown Clark Ramon

And that's just for starters. I'd better quit. We'll be here all
day...

Al Bowers