Once again, we have to admire Lane for doing such a wonderful job. Doesn't hurt that she has one of the best jobs in General Aviation. What marvellous opportunities it gives her. And she does the best with them. Lane, are you familiar with Kelly Johnson? He was the leader of the Lockheed Skunk Works, and produced the F104, the U2, and the SR 71. I did not know that the U2's were still flying. There may be a 104 still operational. Regretfully, I think the SR71's have all been retired. You can only see them on the ground. Bottom line, Kelly is my all time hero. He was responsible for the leading technology of his age. It would be a remarkable trilogy if you could do your magic on the other two aircraft. I would pay lots of money to read them all. Regards

In Lane's article, "From Dream to Reality: A Girl, a Plane and a Space Suit" she talks about how she got to fly a U-2 and mentions the help of Pat Halloran. I met Pat at EAA Chapter 1 at Flabob, and we had talked about flying small planes, including the homebuilt Loving's Love that he owned and flew. [url]http://www.airventuremuseum.org/virtual/interactive/innovations/loving/[/url] Pat was only one of two pilots allowed to fly the de Havilland DH88 Comet racer replica built at Flabob to honor the plane that won the London to Melbourne race in 1934. I heard Pat comment that it was difficult to land at Flabob because of the relatively narrow runway. He said that the only way he could see if he was ready to set it down was by looking down behind the wing for the runway, because the cockpit was so far back, the wing blocked out the runway when he was in the landing attitude. Many of the elements of the Comet racer were later incorporated in the Mosquito. BTW, the plane that came in second in that race was a DC-2, which cemented Douglas's reputation and led to many orders. Loving's Love was a plane designed by a Neal Loving in 1949. Neal was black and had lost his legs in an accident when he was much younger, yet he not only became a pilot, but a designer as well. Pat said that he told Neal that his design was one of the most uncomfortable planes he'd ever flown on a cross-country. Neal told him it wasn't uncomfortable for him. He just took his legs off. I first only knew Pat was a former president of Chapter 1, and it was over a year until I discovered that he was retired Air Force, then it was a bit longer until I discovered he spent much of his career flying U-2s and SR-71s, and later that he retired as a two-star general. It was a couple of years beyond that I was watching the History channel and I learned that he was the SR-71 wing commander. I've seen him at Oshkosh several times since he moved from California, and he's always gracious and friendly. The one time he was scheduled to speak on the SR-71 when I was there, I made it a point to go to the forum. Usually, he lets someone else talk about the plane at Oshkosh. I remember that one thing he was proud of was that no Air Force personnel lost their lives in an SR-71. He ended his talk with a picture of his Loving's Love in front of an SR-71, and the caption on the picture said, "It followed me home, can I keep it?" About 4 or 5 years ago, I was visiting some friends at an airport in Colorado with a lady, and one of them had offered to give both of us a ride in his Yak-52. The lady went first, and I followed them out to the end of the runway to watch them take off and watch other planes land. While I was standing there, waiting for them to come back, I saw a Lancair come in. When it passed by on the taxiway, I saw Pat's name on it, so I trotted after it. I knew he'd moved to Colorado, but I didn't know where. He was putting the plane away in its hangar when I caught up to him. He recognized me, and graciously invited me to see the restoration of the Firecracker racer, built in the 20's that was just being completed. (The restoration had been started at Flabob, but couldn't be completed, and Pat had a hand in seeing it to completion). When I heard the Yak come back, and I told Pat I had to leave (It was my turn to go up). He insisted on giving me a ride. The owner of the Yak is a retired Navy Commander, and when Pat rolled up in his SUV with "U2 SR71" on the plate, and I introduced him to Pat, the retired commander knew who Pat was by reputation and kept addressing him with "yes, sir" and "no, sir." I realize it was out of respect, but I'd met Pat casually as a civilian, and I couldn't do the same. Pat once introduced me to his brother at Oshkosh, and I told his brother that Pat is one of the most unassuming people I know. He's the kind of pilot who can probably fly just about anything, including the hottest plane we know of, and doesn't have to brag about it or trot out his ratings or experience to prove it. Whenever I meet some pilot who puffs out his chest and plays macho, I think of Pat. That's not to say that Pat is soft. You don't get two stars being soft. I have the feeling that the men under Pat Halloran would follow him to hell if he asked. I said asked, not ordered. He's that kind of leader. It's completely in character for Pat to travel to Beale to help Lane get the ride in the U-2. I'm jealous that she got to do it, but glad she took us along with her excellent writing. Dan B.

Lane, thanks for a brilliant article. This is exactly the type of subject matter most of us weekend warriors want to read. Keep up the great work! Marc