Saturday, March 23, 2013

August 1954

Sharing a moment in aviation history with a true legend
by Larry F.

I was involved in the schedule of the YC-130 and knew when it would make its first flight. So I sneaked off my job and ran to the top of Building 66 and was just in time to see the first C-130 blast off and into the sky. Another man was standing not far away, and we both grinned and congratulated each other. He was Robert E. Gross. Later when I was involved in the providing technical assistance to Kawasaki and Mitsubishi for the manufacturing of the T-33 Shooting Star, P-2V Neptune and F-104 Starfighter, Mr. Gross was at a Mitsubishi cocktail party and I reminded him of the YC-130 flight many years before and many miles away. He said he did! I was very pleased.