WMoF Celebrity Lecture Series Bailout: The Hazards of Flight Test
Police officers, fire personnel, military are all professions that live with life threatening consequences. But few jobs come with the requirement to go looking for life threatening situations. One such occupation would be test pilot. Then not merely any plane but a military grade fighter U S Air Force B-1.
Join us on June 16th (11AM) as Capt. Otto Waniczek recounts how he, Major Richard Reynolds and Rockwell test pilot Doug Benefield tested the B-1 in August, 1984 in the first tests of the B-1 Lancer. How they escaped going down with the plane via the new concept Escape Capsule. Yet only two of the three made it back. The capsule parachutes didn’t deploy correctly and the capsule inverted landing nose first. An impact that killed pilot Benefild and seriously injured Reynolds and Waniczek.
Waniczek will give background on what it means to test a plane. As always WMoF members are admitted WMoF Members free. Non-Members: $10. Parking Available in Museum Lot. More information at http://www.wmof.com/upcomingevents.pdf.
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