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McMurtry retires from Dryden
X-Press Editor The familiar sight of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) gracefully flying over the Center May 12 was the final flight behind the controls of the NASA 747 for aerospace legend and Associate Director for Operations Tom McMurtry. "I knew there were training flights and I said I'd like to go along. You need three landings to stay current in the aircraft. Someone mentioned a fly by. I said if it was O.K. with Houston that it was O.K. with me. When we finished the training flights, I made the flybys and the last landing," said McMurtry, one of just six pilots qualified to fly the aircraft. McMurtry, who retired this month, was a key part of the Center during his 32-year career. He flew such research aircraft as the F-8 Supercritical Wing, the AD-1 and co-piloting the SCA as part of the 747 crew that dropped Enterprise into the history books during the Shuttle approach and landing tests. "I've been thrilled to be part of the team," McMurtry said. Although pilots get a lot of attention, McMurtry said he and most pilots recognize the efforts from every office at the Center that go into making a flight research program successful - from human resources and aerospace technicians to acquisitions and finance. And it will be those people that made his career special that he will miss the most, he said But now he plans to trade the stick of experimental aircraft for that of his two private planes - an open cockpit Waco bi-plane built by the Western Aircraft company and a Piper Cub. "It certainly will take a mental adjustment not participating in high-performance flying. I also will miss the people. The people here are my extended family," McMurtry said. Continued Innercity students experience DrydenBy Jay LevineX-Press Editor and Natalie Davis Special to the X-Press All eyes were on the skies as a Dryden F-18 made a high-speed pass over the runway followed by the unmistakable BOOM! Although sonic booms are common here and often taken for granted during the workday, the flyby was inspiring to more than 900 students who were at Dryden for the Science Expo and Sons and Daughters to Work Day, two events at the Center May 28. "Getting to see the airplanes really interested me. The only thing is the flyby scared me because I did not know what was going to happen or what the plane was about to do," said Jennifer Goodson, a fourth grader at Rio Vista Elementary School. She was one of the innercity kids invited here for the Science Expo in partnership with Dryden's Science Ambassadors. This program is based at California State University Los Angeles Charter School of Education. The Science Ambassadors assist teachers in developing activities using aeronautics and aeronautical missions to encourage poverty-level children to pursue careers in mathematics and engineering. Students' eyes were fixated on the F-18 as it streaked across the sky. Teachers, parents and students here for the Science Expo, many of whom had never seen an aircraft up close or a flyby, stood with their mouths as wide open as their eyes. Continued |
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Responsible NASA Official: John Childress For questions, contact: Dryden Web Group Page Curator:WD-Team Modified: June 22, 1999 |
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