Joseph Kittinger

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Joseph Kittinger : biography

27 July 1928 –

Trivia

While serving as a USAF Captain, Kittinger made a June 9, 1957 appearance on What’s My Line? His occupation was shown as "Balloon Test Pilot USAF (Just set test record — 96,000 feet)." Ozzie Nelson correctly guessed his occupation."Captain Joseph Kittinger–What’s My Line" (November 12, 2008) You Tube Retrieved April 21, 2013

In September 1992, Colonel Joe Kittinger Parkhttp://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/Parks/JoeKittinger.htm in Orlando, Florida was completed by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) for the City of Orlando. Located on the southwest corner of the Orlando Executive Airport (KORL), the aviation-themed park was named in Kittinger’s honor, but was temporarily closed and partially demolished circa 2008-2011 to permit a highway expansion project of the Florida State Road 408 East-West Expressway.

In 1997, Kittinger was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.

On January 23, 2007, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the United States Air Force Auxiliary, honored Kittinger by renaming the Texas CAP wing’s TX-352 Squadron after him. Texas Governor Rick Perry cited Kittinger’s work, as did the Texas state senate with a special resolution presented during the dedication ceremony attended by Kittinger and his wife, Sherry. The Colonel Joseph W. Kittinger Phantom Senior Squadron of CAP’s Texas Wing is based at the former Bergstrom AFB, which is now the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The Project Manhigh and Excelsior balloon capsules and the suit from his highest jump are on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. An additional exhibit depicting his highest balloon jump opened at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC on April 6, 2008.

In March 2011, the Colonel Joe Kittinger Park was reopened at its previous location at the corner of Crystal Lake Drive and South Street in the southwest quadreant of Orlando Executive Airport. City officials are also considering inclusion in the park of a restored USAF F-4 Phantom II aircraft, to be placed on pylon static display and painted with the colors of an F-4D formerly flown by Colonel Kittinger.http://www.cityoforlando.net/elected/mayor/pressreleases/11_03_15_park.htm Kittinger has also been honored at a ceremony in Caribou, Maine, where he served as the guest of honor at a sesquicentennial celebration.http://www.firstflight.org/shrine/joe_kittinger.phphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quaZVqMe56s

On February 20, 2013, Kittinger visited his alma mater, the University of Florida, and spoke to over 400 students and faculty about his contributions to the Red Bull Stratos Mission. Kittinger, a UF alumnus, told his story of when he took the 102,800 foot jump from a high altitude balloon. His story was inspirational, and it motivated students to reach for the stars. This event took place during the UF Engineers Week, and it was made possible due to the efforts of the UF American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, UF Air Force ROTC, and UF College of Engineering.

Early life and military career

Born in Tampa, Florida, Kittinger was educated at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, and the University of Florida. After racing speedboats as a teenager, he entered the U.S. Air Force in March 1949. On completion of aviation cadet training in March 1950, he received a USAF Pilot rating and a commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was subsequently assigned to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing based at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, flying the F-84 Thunderjet and F-86 Sabre.

In 1954 Kittinger was transferred to Holloman AFB, New Mexico and the Air Force Missile Development Center (AFMDC). He flew the observation/chase plane that monitored flight surgeon Colonel John Stapp’s rocket sled run of in 1955. Kittinger was impressed by Stapp’s dedication and leadership as a pioneer in aerospace medicine. Stapp, in turn, was impressed with Kittinger’s skillful jet piloting, later recommending him for space-related aviation research work. Stapp was to foster the high-altitude balloon tests that would later lead to Kittinger’s record-setting leap from over . In 1957, as part of Project Manhigh, Kittinger set an interim balloon altitude record of in Manhigh I, for which he was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross.