Page 6 - Aerotech News and Review, June 29 2018

The 1960s
Air Force photograph
On Oct. 3, 1967, Maj. William J. “Pete” Knight flew the modified X-15A-2 to a speed of Mach 6.72. The aircraft was flown with its full ablative coating and external fuel tanks. A dummy ramjet mounted on the lower ventral stub stabilizer fell away during the flight as a result of severe heat damage to the fairing. The flight marked the highest speed achieved in the X-15 program and remains the highest speed ever reached by a manned airplane.
Air Force photographs
Above: On June 30, 1969, the C-5A Test Force, composed of Air Force Flight Test Center and Military Airlift Command personnel, conducted the first Air Force Preliminary Evaluation flight of the C-5A. Right: On June 29, 1965, Capt. Joe Engle reached 280,600 feet (53 miles) in X-15 No. 3, becoming the third Air Force winged astronaut and the youngest pilot to receive astronaut wings. In photograph, Engle is with his wife, Mary, daughter Laurie and son, Jon.
Air Force photograph
On June 13, 1962, a test team conducted the first flights of Project Rough Road, an evaluation of the short-field takeoff and landing capabilities of the production C-130B. Test aircraft were loaded to a gross weight of 101,000 pounds and subjected to a variety of hard and soft sand and clay runways.
Air Force photograph
On June 23, 1961 Maj. Robert M. White became the first person to exceed Mach 5 when he flew the X-15 to a speed of Mach 5.27 (3,603 mph).
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