60 Years Ago

[Colonel]

More proof they don't make them like they used to:

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-new ... ashington/

It was actually the 367-80 prototype,
and it wasn't a barrel roll, it was an
aileron roll ... but what the hell.

Tex Johnston was one hell of a stick.

[img]http://www.sickchirpse.com/wp-content/u ... ll-707.jpg[/img]

He rolled it twice, from 1500 feet.

[duCapo]

Damn near got fired, but he sold airplanes.

[Colonel]

[quote]Damn near got fired[/quote]

Just because someone is a great stick
doesn't mean that everyone will love
them  :D

Historical evidence suggests that the
exact opposite is actually the case.

If you read his autobiography, the
reaction of another Boeing test pilot
(who was ex-FAA) to his flight, was
quite illuminating.

Regardless, his work on dutch roll and
the larger 707 tail was probably a much
greater contribution to Boeing, which
oddly enough, he was deeply hated for,
and actually did result in his termination.

Sooner or later, the corporate suits take
out the good guys.  This results in

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron

[quote]Fortune named Enron [i][b]"America's Most Innovative Company"[/b][/i] for six consecutive years.

At the end of 2001, it was revealed that its reported financial condition was sustained substantially by an institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud, known since as the Enron scandal. Enron has since become a well-known example of willful corporate fraud and corruption.[/quote]