John Manke dec NASA Test Pilot signed autographed photo X-24B M2-F3 Dryden For Sale

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

John Manke dec NASA Test Pilot signed autographed photo X-24B M2-F3 Dryden:
$30.00

5x7 glossy ships in rigid toploader

John A. Manke served as a research pilot, Chief of Flight Operations, and as site manager NASA's Flight Research Center, later the Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center, at Edwards, CA, during a 22-year career with NASA.Manke came to NASA in May 1962, as a flight research engineer. He was later assigned to the pilots' office and flew various support aircraft including the F-104, F5D, F-111 and C-47 before beginning research flights in the wingless lifting bodies in 1968. Manke flew 42 flights in the lifting bodies, including the X-24B, X-24A, HL-10, and the M2-F3, more than any other pilot.The wingless lifting bodies demonstrated the ability to maneuver and safely land a vehicle with a shape that was designed for space flight. The research provided data and flight techniques used for the design of space shuttles. He made the first supersonic flight in a lifting body and the first landing of a lifting body on a hard-surface runway. That precision landing of the X-24B on Aug. 5, 1975 proved that a low lift-to-drag aircraft could be flown to a precise landing, leading space shuttle designers to eliminate plans to incorporate auxiliary jet engines on the shuttles to aid landing approaches.Manke later served as Chief of Flight Operations at NASA Dryden, and upon Dryden's integration with NASA's Ames Research Center in October 1981, served both facilities in that role. As Director of Flight Operations, he was responsible for the conduct of aeronautical flight research with some of the most advanced aircraft in the country at time.He also served concurrently as Dryden's facility manager from the time of its merger with Ames until his retirement from NASA in April 1984.Manke attended the University of South Dakota before joining the U.S. Navy in 1951. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, in 1956. Following graduation, Manke served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps. After leaving the service in 1960, he worked for Honeywell Corp. as a test engineer for two years before joining NASA.Manke is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. In his spare time, he has built and flown his own light are offerding on an authentic hand signed item(s) by the person(s) named in the sale title. We do notsell pre-prints, reprints or copied autographsof any sort.

We guarantee your purchase will pass approved third party authentication services. Our response is a testament to our customers satisfaction and we stand by what we sell.

All items ship in a rigid top loader or 8 1/2 x 11 magazine bag with backing board. This may cause reflections on the photo in the item listing. All items will ship in rigid cardboard

photo mailers. Your shipping is $4 total. Win more than one item and it ships for free. I accept paypal only and ship to the lower 48 states only. Dealer inquiries are welcome.

Thank you for your interest. I will be posting hundreds of sales over the coming months, so please be sure to save us a favorite seller.

John Manke dec NASA Test Pilot signed autographed photo X-24B M2-F3 Dryden

$30.00

John Manke dec NASA Test Pilot signed autographed index card X-24B M2-F3 Dryden

$20.00

John Manke dec NASA Test Pilot signed autographed index card X-24B M2-F3 Dryden

$20.00