Famous pilots you have met.......I'll start out...

Timbeck2 said:
I’ve never shook hands with them but I’ve talked to quite a few. Does that count?
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But to how many of them did you say, "I have a number for you to call advise when ready to copy?"
 
Had dinner with Richard L. Taylor a couple of times. Flew Richard Pryor (comedian) once. Flew
Ike and Tina Turner.
 
John Glenn as well. Was on the NROTC drill team at the time and marching out the colors with him and his wife for our university's commencement speech. He was a lot more interested in chatting with the Marine of our group (an actual one, not just a lame midshipman) than he was any of the rest of us, but I did say hi and shake his hand.
 
No famous pilots met as of yet. Including with the last name Wagner....
 
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Mike Miles, Capt. Mikey. If you own any later model Mooney, he probably flew it as factory test pilot. RIP Mikey, glad to have known you.
 
Santa Claus. No autograph, but I did get a gift.
 
Bill Lear, Howard Hughes, Neil Armstrong, Bob Hoover, Burt Rutan, Dick Rutan, Pappy Boyington, Al Haynes, Mike Busch, Chuck Yeager, Barry Schiff...

Most at Oshkosh and other fly-ins, but some just coincidentally being at an out of the way place at the same time.
 
Met? Scotty Crossfield, Bob Hoover, Jim Lovell, TK Mattingly, Carol Shelby, Sullengburger and probably more I'm not remembering.

Had dinner with: Patty Wagstaff, Judy Scholl, Susan Oliver, Rod Machado.

Had over to my house: Jerrie Mock, John and Martha King
 
Bill said:
I've heard of 17 of the 31 pilots listed, so 54.8%.
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I've heard of 18. Met 3 of them, Bob Hoover, Gene Cernan, and Rod Machado. I agree that most would not be called famous if your definition is 50% of the general public knowing them. I only know many of the astronaut names because I'm old, and they were famous at the time.
 
Pilawt said:
In 1971 I was a green-as-grass, 19-year-old flight instructor at an FBO at Long Beach CA. Our eclectic (if not elegant) fleet included a couple of then-new American AA-1 Yankees.

A distinguished-looking gentleman came into the FBO and asked for a demo ride in one of the Yankees. We took off in N6190L, but not before he pulled on a pair of leather flying gloves. He skillfully wheeled the airplane around the sky over the harbor, obviously enjoying the Yankee’s slick handling. After we landed and the customer left, the chief pilot ambled up and asked if I knew who that was. I didn’t. He said, “Col. Glenn Eagleston is a fighter ace with 18-1/2 kills in WW-2 and Korea, and now he’s in your logbook under ‘instruction given’!”
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Meanwhile another one of those young snot-nosed baby boomer flight instructors walks into the instructor's lounge and asks "who was that square with the flying gloves? Thinks he's some sort of flying ace I tell you!"
 
I met Nikos of 'Nikos' Wings' Youtube channel today at the Suncoast Cafe in Venice Fl. Does that count? :D
 
Burt Rutan and Story Musgrave. Lunch and dinner with both, been to Story’s house.

Oh, and Fast Eddie, of course.
 
Pilawt said:
A distinguished-looking gentleman came into the FBO and asked for a demo ride in one of the Yankees. We took off in N6190L, but not before he pulled on a pair of leather flying gloves. He skillfully wheeled the airplane around the sky over the harbor, obviously enjoying the Yankee’s slick handling. After we landed and the customer left, the chief pilot ambled up and asked if I knew who that was. I didn’t. He said, “Col. Glenn Eagleston is a fighter ace with 18-1/2 kills in WW-2 and Korea, and now he’s in your logbook under ‘instruction given’!”
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My flight instructor gave Clyde Cessna his last biannual flight review, does that count?
So I know the guy that knew the guy!

Edit: I should say I knew the guy that knew the guy, since my flight instructor has since passed.
 
Bob Hoover, Patty Wagstaff, Sean Tucker, Bill Anders. Those are probably the most famous. But, I've met a heck of a lot a great pilots and aerospace leaders who are "famous" within their own specialized areas.
 
Some to varying degrees of fame, but the one that got the most sincere “It’s a true honor to meet you” was Sir Frank Whittle.


flyingron said:
Met? . . .TK Mattingly, . . .
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Forgot about that one, but, you know, I was 2 years old when he was a neighbor. Still hoping to find a well travelled Casper pin as I sort through my parents stuff.
 
Yeah, TK is great. He was giving a keynote speech at a conference I was attending in DC and it turns out he only lives a few blocks from the hotel. We ended up having quite a nice talk with him in the lobby.

I forgot perhaps the most elusive pilot that I finally met a few years ago. Ron Wattanja and I had been conversing via email and on the old net.aviation Usenet groups for years but we always seemed to just miss each other at Oshkosh. Then a few years back I'm just walking mindlessly down the road at Oshkosh and spotted someone in a Fly Baby shirt and media credentials. I quickly backtracked and sure enough it was "the other Ron" (as we both refer to ourselves).
 
catmandu said:
Some to varying degrees of fame, but the one that got the most sincere “It’s a true honor to meet you” was Sir Frank Whittle.
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I was fortunate to both meet Sir Frank a number of times and to work with Hans Von Ohain when he was Chief Scientist at the USAF Aero Propulsion Lab. They were close friends after WWII.

Cheers
 
I don't know how I forgot about Bruce Crandall. I was part of the Color Guard that was on site at the state capitol when he received the flag that goes with his MOH. There is a funny story about the Governor trying to tell us to do something and we wouldn't but as soon as Crandall said we should, we did. One guy passed out on live TV, good times. I was also seated next him and his wife at a diner. He kept buying rounds and got me plastered and then almost hit me with his MG in the parking lot. They were great fun to talk to. He was very active with CAV association events that my unit participated in as well.
 
I haven't met any in terms of having a real meaningful conversations
.....but I'd too like to meet Bryan Turner. Seems like a fun guy to share a beer or two with

I've spoken to or with
Bob Morgan...sadly it was at Sun n Fun just days before he returned to Asheville where he fell on ice as I understand it, and he passed soon after
Paul Poberezny
Chuck Yeager
Rod Machado
& I've listened to live presentations from several others but that doesn't really equal meeting in my estimation.....

Oh, I met Kentucky Colonel Sanders once when I was a kid....don't know if he was a pilot but his birds flew before he fried them......does that count for anything?
 
Hoover, Kermit, Duane Cole, C.G. Taylor.
 
Brad W said:
I haven't met any in terms of having a real meaningful conversations
.....but I'd too like to meet Bryan Turner. Seems like a fun guy to share a beer or two with

I've spoken to or with
Bob Morgan...sadly it was at Sun n Fun just days before he returned to Asheville where he fell on ice as I understand it, and he passed soon after
Paul Poberezny
Chuck Yeager
Rod Machado
& I've listened to live presentations from several others but that doesn't really equal meeting in my estimation.....

Oh, I met Kentucky Colonel Sanders once when I was a kid....don't know if he was a pilot but his birds flew before he fried them......does that count for anything?
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I met Buzz Aldrin at a book signing like 8 years ago. He was a really nice guy from the 30ish seconds that I met him. I would have loved to chat a little longer.
 
write-stuff said:
Chuck Yeager, Patty Wagstaff, Robin Olds, Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, Bill Anders, Gordo Cooper, Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Bob Hoover, Al Worden, Joel Paris III, Lee Lauderback, Bud Anderson, Buzz Aldrin, Gabby Gabreski, Paul Tibbets, Gene Cernan, Dick Gordon, Robert L. Scott, Scott Crossfield, Edgar Mitchell, John Young, Joe Engle, Max Trescott, Rod Machado, Dick Truly, Pappy Boyington, Gunther Rall, Bryan Turner
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Know most of these, and more (Apollo guys).
Perhaps we were at some of the same “conventions”..??
 
Piper18O said:
My flight instructor gave Clyde Cessna his last biannual flight review, does that count?
So I know the guy that knew the guy!
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Since the biennial flight review requirement started in 1974 and Clyde Cessna died in 1954, I say it doesn't count.
 
Let's see... Pappy Boyington, Bob Hoover, Patty Wagstaff, Stan Hiller, Rod Machado, Chuck Yeager, Jimmy Doolittle, Richard Taylor, Mike Durant, Frank Tallman, Paul Mantz, Ken Brock, Karl(Crazy Charlie) Zimmerman.

Flown with: Richard Collins, Amelia Reid, Doug Englen.

CW4 Michael Novosel Sr. (Dustoff: The Memoir of an Army Aviator) pinned on my Aviator Wings at my graduation from US Army Rotary Wing Flight School.

Jason Dahl, pilot of UA 93, RIP. We both soloed on the same day in the same aircraft.
 
I've ridden in golf carts with Hal Sheevers (offered me a ride at Oshkosh one year) and Burt Rutan (he was speaking at the Air & Space Museum and we were giving him a quick tour and dinner at Subway before his talk).
 
Only met one, E.M. Laird. Don't know if he'd be considered "famous" or not.
 
kkoran said:
Since the biennial flight review requirement started in 1974 and Clyde Cessna died in 1954, I say it doesn't count.
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Well I guess It wasn't a biennial flight review than. I can't remember what exactly it was that he went up with him for. It was in the late 40's I think. My instructor worked out of Kingman after WW2 and Clyde Cessna lived in Rago, which was about 15 miles south of Kingman. It was probably 25 or more years ago when he told the story, and I can't remember exactly why Clyde needed to go up with an instructor. I thought he had to sign his logbook though.
 
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