@UserNamei5 Yeah, I thought somebody might say that. If you have time, read the book "The Right Stuff." In it you might learn that the X15 pilots often went higher and faster than any human previously. Like the vid said, they went so high that aerodynamic controls no longer functioned. Believe what you want.
I am guessing Joe is Joe Walker... which according to the list of flights and pilots, shows he did 25 flights from 1960-1963, the 2nd highest number of flights after John B. McKay. The only other "Joe" was Joseph H. Engle, with 16 flights, but his first flight was not until late in 1963. If this film is from 1962 or earlier, it is not Joe Engle.
Side note and kind of tragic, the pilot they keep calling JOE at the beginning is Joe Walker, as I just wrote. Sadly he was killed on 8 June 1966, when his F-104 Starfighter chase aircraft collided with a North American XB-70 Valkyrie. Walker had been flying in a tight group formation for a publicity photo, when his F-104 drifted into the XB-70.
@gmcjetpilot Walker would be the only pilot the program to qualify as an astronaut according to FIA rules. NASA would award eight X-15 pilots astronaut wings. Walker is right up there with the likes of Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield.
@gmcjetpilot Walker would be the only pilot the program to qualify as an astronaut according to FIA rules. NASA would award eight X-15 pilots astronaut wings. Walker is right up there with the likes of Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield.
People think the SR22 is the fastest plane. I say it was the X15, and these pilots were the first men in space. When I was a kid, Scott Crossfield was one of my heros.
A great TV program about a great aerospace program. It just doesn't get any better.
maxsmodels 11 months ago
You can see how the X-15 came to morph into the SR 71 Blackbird.
silvereagle2061 11 months ago
@silvereagle2061 ???
the A12 was already flying in 62. designed by Kelly Johnson at Lockeed. two totally separate designs for two explicitly different purposes.
1MtnBoy 6 months ago
oh yeah, more aero-porn (drooling, slack jaw, vacant expression) If anyone needs me I'll be back in 27 minutes.
hogey74 11 months ago
damn 24:52
munalisa1000 11 months ago
@UserNamei5 Yeah, I thought somebody might say that. If you have time, read the book "The Right Stuff." In it you might learn that the X15 pilots often went higher and faster than any human previously. Like the vid said, they went so high that aerodynamic controls no longer functioned. Believe what you want.
Barnekkid 11 months ago
thnx for posting
rm688 11 months ago
I am guessing Joe is Joe Walker... which according to the list of flights and pilots, shows he did 25 flights from 1960-1963, the 2nd highest number of flights after John B. McKay. The only other "Joe" was Joseph H. Engle, with 16 flights, but his first flight was not until late in 1963. If this film is from 1962 or earlier, it is not Joe Engle.
gmcjetpilot 11 months ago
Side note and kind of tragic, the pilot they keep calling JOE at the beginning is Joe Walker, as I just wrote. Sadly he was killed on 8 June 1966, when his F-104 Starfighter chase aircraft collided with a North American XB-70 Valkyrie. Walker had been flying in a tight group formation for a publicity photo, when his F-104 drifted into the XB-70.
gmcjetpilot 11 months ago
@gmcjetpilot that's crazy, I didn't know that he was involved in that crash...
theschoolofchuck 11 months ago
@gmcjetpilot Walker would be the only pilot the program to qualify as an astronaut according to FIA rules. NASA would award eight X-15 pilots astronaut wings. Walker is right up there with the likes of Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield.
inwoodcutter 5 months ago
@gmcjetpilot Walker would be the only pilot the program to qualify as an astronaut according to FIA rules. NASA would award eight X-15 pilots astronaut wings. Walker is right up there with the likes of Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield.
inwoodcutter 5 months ago 2
People think the SR22 is the fastest plane. I say it was the X15, and these pilots were the first men in space. When I was a kid, Scott Crossfield was one of my heros.
Barnekkid 11 months ago
@Barnekkid I think you might mean the a12/sr71 ? If so, I think it was the fastest air-breathing one.
hogey74 11 months ago
@hogey74 Yup, you're right...good catch, dude.
Barnekkid 11 months ago
I love stuff like this.
MrMegaFredzeppelin 11 months ago
this is going on watch later for sure!
jamiehasnomercy 11 months ago
Thanks again for another terriffic film. Best history of avation material on the web!
Decalage45 11 months ago
FIRST
ddddarius02 11 months ago