Never in the military but spent time working at different AF bases as a civilian with CO benefits. In 1981, there was a flying competition for the JSTARS development program at Holloman AFB, NM and I joined the team for 9 months. A month in, my boss got into trouble and was called home so I was promoted to Head of Airborne Operations on our flying test bed, an F-111 Aardvark. I spent nine months there.
At the time, F-15s were based there and the F-15 refurbishment line was also there. Every day there was an air show as the newly refurbished F-15 were put through their verification flights.
We had free reign of the base between flights and we rode dirt bikes all around. I remember the missile silos and the monkey farm where Ham was born and trained. I also took flying lessons while there, exciting times for a small town kid.
Because we had to relocate, Hughes would give us a flight home every 2 weeks. Back then, Hughes had a fleet of airplanes based at Van Nuys Airport so we had private flights. Friday at noon, we would board whatever plane they were using that weekend, sometimes a DC3, other times Citation Lear Jets and once I flew in 6 seater Hawker (the CEOs private ride). At home, we had chauffeurs drive us home and then pick us up on Monday morning to go back.
So, the point of all this, is that there is an amazing little museum in the town of Alamogordo (where we lived). It has a lot of the Von Braun early stuff as Alamogordo was where he and his team did a lot of their development.
Discover the Cradle of America’s Space ProgramExploreExhibitions Celebrating the History of Space ExplorationExhibits GalleryExperienceThe New Horizon Dome Theater & Planetarium ATTENTION PATRONS! The John P. Stapp Air and Space Park […]
www.nmspacemuseum.org