Al Worden NASA Astronaut and ETPS graduate 1965
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Al Worden NASA Astronaut and ETPS graduate 1965
RIP
https://www.nasa.gov/alworden
I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the USA Pavilion at Farnborough 2018 and seeing Al Worden give a speech. He then handed over the Stars and Stripes which had gone with the Apollo crews into space, to AM Sir Stephen Hillier. Said flag I believe is in High Wycombe.
(My photo below)
Al Worden graduated from ETPS when it was at Farnborough in 1965, does anyone know what types he flew during his year here?
Cheers
https://www.nasa.gov/alworden
I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the USA Pavilion at Farnborough 2018 and seeing Al Worden give a speech. He then handed over the Stars and Stripes which had gone with the Apollo crews into space, to AM Sir Stephen Hillier. Said flag I believe is in High Wycombe.
(My photo below)
Al Worden graduated from ETPS when it was at Farnborough in 1965, does anyone know what types he flew during his year here?
Cheers
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
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I was in the VIP buffet line at a Kennedy Space Center rocket launch years ago as a guest of the Administrator. I chatted with a distinguished looking elderly gentleman. I later found out who he was.
RIP Al!
RIP Al!
Join Date: Jun 2001
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At Farnborough, I flew at least thirteen varieties, from a tiny de Havilland Chipmunk propeller airplane all the way up to a Vickers Viscount airliner that could seat around fifty passengers. We flew a wonderful diversity of unique aircraft with intriguing names like Provost, Devon, Scimitar, Canberra, and Sea Hawk. We even flew gliders: it was pilot heaven. The British philosophy was that we were pilots, so we should be able to fly anything. It was quite different from the American mindset of specializing in one kind of fighter jet. Most of the time, we flew Hawker Hunters or Gloster Meteors. The Meteor was the first operational British jet fighter and a potentially deadly airplane—not only for the enemy, but also for the pilot. It was tricky to fly, and in certain flight conditions the Meteor would become unstable and almost uncontrollable. The Hawker Hunter, on the other hand, was one of the best airplanes I ever flew. flew. It was smooth, comfortable, easy to fly, yet very powerful. I loved to spin upside down and watch the world rotate around me. I fell in love with that airplane, and flew as many of my test exercises in it as I could.
At Farnborough we’d start the day with academic sessions, then have lunch, often with a pint of beer, before we suited up and went flying. There were some British flying practices that weren’t necessarily better—in fact, I am sure they don’t do them anymore—and drinking before flying was certainly one of them. But that beer accompanied some of the most wonderful lunches I ever had in the military. I learned to love eating fish while I was in England, and I have never had Dover sole as good as I had at Farnborough. We’d finish up the lunch with a traditional English brandy-soaked trifle dessert with custard, empty our beer glasses, and head down to the operations area to go flying.
At Farnborough we’d start the day with academic sessions, then have lunch, often with a pint of beer, before we suited up and went flying. There were some British flying practices that weren’t necessarily better—in fact, I am sure they don’t do them anymore—and drinking before flying was certainly one of them. But that beer accompanied some of the most wonderful lunches I ever had in the military. I learned to love eating fish while I was in England, and I have never had Dover sole as good as I had at Farnborough. We’d finish up the lunch with a traditional English brandy-soaked trifle dessert with custard, empty our beer glasses, and head down to the operations area to go flying.
Last edited by Airbubba; 20th Mar 2020 at 11:54.
And once again the few get even fewer. For the first 14 years of my life, there was no one alive that had walked on another planetary body, or had even left the primary gravitational influence of the Earth. All too soon, that statement will likely once again be true. Sad, so sad.
I've had the privilege of meeting several Apollo astronauts, but not Colonel Worden (although I have an autographed copy of Al Worden's book - fascinating read, I recommend it strongly).
RIP Colonel, you will be missed.
I've had the privilege of meeting several Apollo astronauts, but not Colonel Worden (although I have an autographed copy of Al Worden's book - fascinating read, I recommend it strongly).
RIP Colonel, you will be missed.
Last edited by tdracer; 20th Mar 2020 at 04:18.
Another one gone!
I had the pleasure of hearing him talk as a guest speaker at the British Interplanetary Society not too long ago; he did a lot of work in the UK supporting and promoting space: https://www.bis-space.com/2020/03/18...rden-1932-2020 A very energetic and inspiring speaker even in his eighties - I guess you have to be of a high calibre to be 'sent solo' around the moon! Col. Worden was happy to mingle and chat after the lecture too. Shame he went too early to see more boots on the lunar surface.
RIP
I had the pleasure of hearing him talk as a guest speaker at the British Interplanetary Society not too long ago; he did a lot of work in the UK supporting and promoting space: https://www.bis-space.com/2020/03/18...rden-1932-2020 A very energetic and inspiring speaker even in his eighties - I guess you have to be of a high calibre to be 'sent solo' around the moon! Col. Worden was happy to mingle and chat after the lecture too. Shame he went too early to see more boots on the lunar surface.
RIP
