EPISODE THIRTY-SEVEN
Welcome to “Safe on Deck”. My name is Antonio Gemma More'. In the fleet I flew the MH-53E “Sea Dragon” helicopter, and these days I instruct the next generation of Naval Flight Officers in the T-6A “Texan II”. Throughout my incredibly short time in aviation, I have been fortunate to meet a wide cross-section of aviators. Along the way I have done my best to document each and every flying memory, but eventually I came to realize that even the sharpest photo or the highest-quality video can only really capture so much. Everyone I have met has a unique story to tell, and “Safe on Deck” is my humble attempt to capture as many of those exciting and inspiring aviation stories as possible.
For episode thirty-seven I sat down with CAPT Robert “Hoot” Gibson at his home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Hoot joined the United States Navy in 1969, and following flight training he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 111 (VF-111) flying the legendary F-4B “Phantom II” in combat over Southeast Asia. Next, Hoot joined Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) and transitioned to the F-14A “Tomcat” where he was selected to attend the prestigious United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). Hoot then completed United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) before serving a tour as an F-14 test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center's Strike Aircraft Test Directorate. Hoot joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an astronaut candidate in January 1978 where he went on to fly five missions aboard the Space Shuttle including as pilot on STS-41B and commander on STS-61C, STS-27, STS-47, and STS-71: the first Space Shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Space Station “Mir”. Hoot served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1992 to 1994 and retired from NASA in 1996. Hoot is a prolific general-aviation pilot and air racer, and in September 2015 he won the National Championship Air Race Gold Unlimited class flying a highly-modified P-51 named “Strega”. Hoot has logged 36.5 days in space and is an active aviator with over 14000 hours of flight time in 162 types of aircraft to date, and his numerous individual military decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Thank you for taking the time to listen. In the future, I plan to continue to share similar interviews with both current and retired military aviators. If you have a question or a suggestion for a future interview, please leave it as a comment below. “Safe on Deck” episode thirty-seven, with CAPT Robert “Hoot” Gibson. Enjoy!
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** The views and opinions presented on “Safe on Deck” are my own and those of my guests and do not represent the official policy or position of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or its components. **
9 окт 2023
