Builders,
On January 28 1986, I, like several hundred thousand other people in Florida,watched the Challenger lift off in perfect cold blue skies. A little more than a minute later it was over, a stunning loss to our nation.
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It is hard to explain to people outside the state just how many people saw this. If you were never fortunate enough to see a Shuttle launch, it is hard to conceive of an aviation event that can easily be seen with the naked eye at a radius of 120 miles. That morning the Challenger made it to more than 60,000′ and was already above the speed of sound. Florida’s has flat terrain, clear skies, and many businesses and schools had people stand outside to watch. I doubt that any other aviation disaster has ever had as many eyewitnesses. People who were watching were silent, as it was very obvious that something had gone terribly wrong. The only other time I have stood among hundreds of people in such silence was standing at Washington Rock, watching NYC burn on 9/12/o1.
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In our national anthem, it calls us the “Land of the Free and the Home of the brave.” A nice ideal that as a country, we fall well short of. If you want to find out how few people understand risk, courage and achievement, just tell 100 average people you are building a plane in your garage which you intend to fly yourself. It will be a sobering reminder that most people are conditioned to live their entire life in fear, usually of things that have no chance of actually happening.
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But if I were to make a case that we still had Americans among us who lived up to the anthem, “Home of the Brave.” I would point out to the people of America’s Space program. Below is a photo I took with Grace of the 2006 return to flight after the Columbia loss:
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From 2006: “Grace and I took time out Saturday night to watch the Space Shuttle’s first night launch in four years. This can easily be seen from a hundred miles in every direction. In America today, sadly, most people are convinced to be afraid of many things. My personal definition of courage is volunteering to get in the type of vehicle that has killed all of its occupants before, twice. The courage of our astronauts and the trust they have in their co-workers in the space program personally moves me. The view above is from the Titusville U.S. 1 bridge 15 miles from the pad.”
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As a homebuilder, you have made the decision that your place will not be “With the cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat”. By choosing the demanding challenge of building and flying your own aircraft, you have made a decision to set your life apart from others who have succumbed to the message to live in fear. Because you have made this choice, your life will have some real understanding of the adventurers who have pushed the boundaries of flight….. and at times paid a terrible price for it.
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I have very strong objections to our National air and Space Museum being called the “Udvar-Hazy Center”. Steven Udvar-Hazy’s only contribution to aviation is manipulating the leasing of commercial aircraft to make himself a billionaire. His $66 million contribution to the museum sounds big until you realize that it was only 1.5% of his estimated net worth.
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No National landmark in this country should be named for people who donated money. It is as demeaning as naming the Lincoln Memorial the ‘Walmart memorial’. It is un-American to measure the value of a man by the thickness of his wallet. It is for precisely this reason that Americans triumphed in flight. Our system recognized and advanced the best, brightest and courageous. It placed no value on class, connection or wealth.
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If the Air and Space museum is to be named for the highest bidder, I can think of 100 names off the top of my head like, Sijan, Grissom, Loring, Scobee, Luke, Husband….American Aviators who gave 100% of everything they had or would ever have for this country, paying a price that makes any financial contribution meaningless.
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“If we die we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.” – Gus Grissom.
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“They gave their lives in service to their country in the ongoing exploration of humankind’s final frontier. Remember them not for how they died but for those ideals for which they lived.”
-statement left on the remains of Launch Pad 34.
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Dick Scobee’s head stone at Arlington.
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-ww.
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