Joe Kittinger’s Long Leap Into History - AVweb

Well spoken, Paul. I had the honor and privilege of meeting, speaking, and even flying with Joe in Orlando. Aviation writer/humorist Ralph Hood was known to say “Half my lies are not true”. I suspect all of Joe’s “lies”, when it came to aviation, were actually true! I could listen to them for hours, and wish I could still. He was a great pilot, and a great man. The risks he took saved many lives, and, he would be happy to tell you, would have saved many more if more of his research and proven theories of high altitude ejection had made it through the bureaucratic channels. All of us who fly, who will fly, or have ever flown, owe gratitude to Colonel Joe Kittinger for the example he set and the flyways he paved.