Wood |
Status: Deceased; Active 1962-1963. Born: 1924-08-09. Died: 1990-01-01. Birth Place: Paragould, Arkansas.
BS in aeronautical engineering from Air Force Institute of Technology in 1956. Flew 10 combat missions during World War II and more then 100 in the Korean War. Experimental test pilot at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards AFB. Unsuccessful application for NASA astronaut group 1. Then selected as a pilot for the X-20 Dyna-Soar. Resumed career as a pilot in the USAF. Then Commander, Test Operations, Edwards AFB, California (until 1978). Retired from the USAF with the rank of Colonel. Later test pilot and Director of Operations, Tracor Flight Systems Inc. in Newport Beach, California. Died in Melbourne, Florida.
The group was selected to provide pilots for X-20A Dyna-Soar spaceplane flights.. Qualifications: Assigned from pool of active USAF and NASA Test Pilots.. Ten test pilots (7 USAF, 3 NASA) underwent physical examinations in August 1959. Seven were secretly selected in April 1960.