This evening, while wandering back to the computer, my ears caught the words “Tex Johnston” coming from a TV show my wife was watching called “Pawn Stars.” Mindless TV drivel for the most part, but my sweetie listens to this stuff while playing games or emailing on her laptop. I think it’s called multi-tasking.
Anyway, Tex Johnston caught my attention because he is one of the most famous civilian test pilots who ever lived. He worked for Boeing and flew test flights in the 40s, 50s, and 60s on the B-47, B-52 (the first to do so in that ageless bomber), and the Dash 80. For those unschooled in aviation history, the Dash 80 is the prototype of the Boeing 707 and its military version, the KC-135, an aerial tanker which is still in service.
In 1955, Tex demonstrated the Dash 80 over Seattle Lake to an audience gathered along the shoreline and proceeded to do a barrel roll on the deck with an aircraft that was destined to become America’s primary jet passenger carrier for nearly two decades. A fucking barrel roll on the deck with a heavy lift jet aircraft in its test phase in front of an invited audience that, had it failed, might have sunk the company. Thus began Tex’s legend in the aviation community.
Fast forward to “Pawn Stars” and Tex’s son, who had just wandered into the Las Vegas pawn shop where the show is filmed. Sonny Boy, who was skinny and balding with a bad comb over, was hawking some of Tex’s memorabilia. After all was said and done, he got $290 for Tex’s stuff and said, “Well, that’ll be enough to fill up the gas tank on my brand new SUV.”
That’s it. Two minutes of “fame” for a total asshole who dishonored his father just for a tank of gas. I wanted to throw up.
Alvin “Tex” Johnston With Someone Who Looks Familiar
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5188/5590650545_da0088f9f5_z.jpg
Tex Johnson Shondelle:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=tex%20johnson&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CDkQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DRa_khhzuFlE&ei=bHVAUeXSE_PB4APg5oE4&usg=AFQjCNElNLJpN-OAcsWOMeIrVtbcQeWPyg
Very impressive.
Bob.
Thank God for THE LEARNING CHANNEL
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Another high quality show highlighting welfare queens and statutory rape
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SSS…take heart my friend…these shows are FAKE . My brothers work in the movie/TV industry and they told me a long time ago that the stuff in the storage bins etc is planted . So perhaps this is the case with Tex’s stuff .
Here’s a lawsuit form Storage War Yup Guy Dave :
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/storage-wars-rigging-lawsuit-david-422093
Sad on the Tex Johnston thing. But wasn’t it Mickey Mantle’s kid who had him still signing bats on his deathbed? There’s a lot of that.
I wish I had more mementos from my Dad. He wasn’t famous or anything. Just a hell of a good man and a great father. Mostly I make do with some great memories. Sometimes he visits me in my dreams.
“Well, that’ll be enough to fill up the gas tank on my brand new SUV.”
That’s code for I’ll be able to buy a gram of coke and a dime bag of weed.
Yet another great show celebrating everything that is America: The biggest loser
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WPES
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Eddie,
That was Ted William’s son.
Bob.
DC8 > 707
Yet another inspirational T.V. show., makes you proud to be an American
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My ole man drove up from TN to visit our new home this past weekend.
I choked up seeing him go. I dearly wish I had grown up with him and not that useless twat of a mother of mine.
Man I love old military planes. Growing up as an Air Force brat in the 70’s and 80’s I had extraordinary access to many fighters, bombers, and recon aircraft in addition to cargo planes and helos.
Later in life I took an interest in test pilots and Tex was a bad ass!
While at Malmstrom AFB in MT, there was a parking lot near the east end of the runway where us kids would hang out to watch planes. On several occasions B-52 bombers paid us a visit and from the corner of that parking lot we could reach up and touch the wingtips of the BUFF’s as they taxied by.
At Fairchild AFB in WA state they have one of only two B-52’s with confirmed MiG-21 kills over Vietnam on static display. The story about both including some pictures of the quad .50 cal machine guns that did the job can be seen here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2648255/posts
On June 24th, 1994 I was pouring concrete near Fairchild AFB when I witnessed this as it happened:
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The dickhead flying that B-52 (Bud Holland) had to be the most wreckless pilot in the entire Air Force. He killed himself and his entire crew that day including Col. Wolff who was on his fini-flight or the last flight of his active duty career before retirement. His whole family was there on the ground for his final hose down and instead saw him killed.
Video exists of Bud Holland clearing hill tops on the Yakima bombing range in a B-52 by less that 6 feet!! He was the worst kind of pilot! His stated goal in life was to loop a B-52 and he tried it more than once and fractured the wing spars each time.
This however is my favorite bomber and the most beautiful:
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This plane even smelled good! They used giant silk bags of gunpowder to start these babies up which is why the sides of the plane are covered in black soot. The Canberra has an engine sound so unique that I can still hear it when I close my eyes. The plane in the image is one of my fathers birds and he was in England with this one the day this picture was taken.
Thanks for posting this SSS!
I_S
WPES
You can see the B-57 here:
I_S