my sis got me this guys autograph

a reply to: stealthyaroura

I have been interested in aerospace since I was very young, and have collected a lot of interesting artifacts and memorabilia. I never really thought of myself as an autograph collector per se, but when I put all of my signed 8x10" photos into binders I found I had an insane number of them. There was a long period of time when it was really easy to meet just about any of the famous aviation and space legends, and they were happy to sign nearly anything. These days, the few who remain will usually sign items for a price. This is likely the result of so many people getting autographs just to make a buck on eBay.

If I had more wall space, I would love to frame some of my Mike Machat art prints, but my wife won't let me turn our house into an aerospace museum. I mostly prefer collecting patches, display models, and other goodies. I look in the usual places, and sometimes I just get lucky at a garage sale or thrift shop. Some people might weep if they knew how low a price I paid for an original Topping X-15 display model. It was on the low end of the average price range for that item, but it was a real score because it is signed by one of the launch panel operators (a test pilot in his own right) and all of the X-15 pilots except for Mike Adams. You just never know what you might find.

a reply to: Shadowhawk

Man I live in the wrong country! You guys have such a huge area to access and an awesome history of space,plane,jet, or just bloody awesome tech and legends that we just don't have access to this stuff in the UK unless your a hardcore collector and have the cash.
Not to say we the UK haven't done some cool stuff too take Alan Brown, he's a British guy.
Sounds like your living the dream my friend,I'm a little envious of your collection and folks ya met.
Very cool. Very cool indeed. Now without googling the X15 wasn't that a lifting body with a rocket motor?
I'm sure I can picture it,if so my god!! What an awesome piece of memorabilia

a reply to: stealthyaroura

The X-15 was basically a rocket with a man in the nose. It looked similar to an F-104 with small wings.

a reply to: Sammamishman

Yeah I googled it and it was exactly what I thought it was.lifting body doesn't really do it justice as they were more of a wedge I guess.
Like you describe,mean machine!

a reply to: stealthyaroura

The X-15 is generally considered one of the most successful X-plane programs of all time. Three airframes made 199 flights to conduct a wide variety of experiments. It was the first aircraft to fly Mach 4, Mach 5, and Mach 6. Eight of the 12 pilots who flew it earned their astronaut wings for flights that exceeded 50 miles altitude. Most flights had some sort of emergency situation, and there were several major accidents, but only one fatality.

I feel very fortunate to have met seven of the pilots. I encountered Neil Armstrong on several occasions, once some time before he stopped signing autographs. Milt Thompson helped me with a research project. I interviewed Scott Crossfield for a NASA oral history project, and had him sign a picture of the F-100 that he accidentally ran through a hangar wall. Joe Engle spoke at my university once, and sometimes visited the place where I later worked; really nice guy. Robert White used to show up regularly at the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) annual symposium. Pete Knight was a state senator, so, in addition to appearing at numerous public events, it was also possible for anyone to drop in and see him at his office in Palmdale if they wished do so. And, much to my delight, I got to work with Bill Dana for quite a few years.

For anyone living in the Los Angeles area, there were several annual events that always attracted large numbers of famous and less well known test pilots and astronauts: SETP, Gathering of Eagles, and the Lancaster Aerospace Walk of Honor. Special events at the Blackbird Airpark were great, too (they used to let people sit in the cockpit of the SR-71).

Gotta say I've loved this thread.
Thanks to all of you who posted your story's with great background history.
Great to see all the enthusiasm and passion.

a reply to: stealthyaroura

Love your thread too!!!