William H. Dana

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William H. Dana in front of an X-15

William Harvey "Bill" Dana (born November 3, 1930 in Pasadena , California - † May 6, 2014 in Phoenix , Arizona ) was an American test pilot .

Career

Dana received his Bachelor of Science degree from the US Military Academy in 1952. He then served as a pilot in the Air Force for four years. He moved to NASA after earning a Masters in Aerospace Engineering from the University of North Carolina in 1958 .

US Air Force

Bill Dana was selected as an astronaut for the Dyna-Soar program in 1960 . From 1962 he left the program with Neil Armstrong at an early stage in order to be able to fly the X-15 as a test pilot .

NASA

From 1965 he completed a total of 16 flights with the X-15, during which he reached a top speed of 6,272 km / h or Mach  5.53 and a maximum altitude of 93.5 km. Since he reached space according to the US Air Force definition, he should receive astronaut wings as an award. However, since he was a NASA pilot, i.e. a civilian pilot, this honor was only given to him on August 24, 2005. In the X-15 program, he also flew the 199th and final flight.

In the late 1960s and 70s he tested as part of the "Manned Lifting Body" project, from which the space shuttle later emerged. So he tested the types NASA M2-F1 , Northrop HL-10 , Northrop M2-F3 and Martin-Marietta X-24B .

After these tests he was also involved in the Lightweight Fighter Project, from which the F-16 later emerged. He was also a test pilot on the F-15 HIDEC (Highly Integrated Digital Electronic Control) and on the F / A-18 High Angle of Attack research program .

From 1986 to 1998 he worked as an aerospace engineer at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center .

family

Bill Dana was married and had four children. He died at the age of 83 on May 6, 2014 in an assisted living facility in a suburb of Phoenix .

Awards

He received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his services in the Lifting Body program . He also received the Haley Space Flight Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1976 for his work on the Northrop M2-F3, and in 1993 he was accepted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor .

literature

  • Milton O. Thompson: At The Edge Of Space: The X-15 Flight Program . Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London 1992, ISBN 1-56098-107-5 .

Web links

Commons : Bill Dana (pilot)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ X-15 rocket plane pilot Bill Dana dies in Phoenix area at 83 ( Memento from May 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Dana, William H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dana, William Harvey (full name); Dana, Bill
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American test pilot
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Pasadena , California
DATE OF DEATH May 6, 2014
Place of death Phoenix , Arizona