Robert "Hoot" Gibson Modelled Jets Before Becoming An Astronaut
Christopher Lusardi
The AMA Podcast - Episode 54: Astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson
Published: Oct 5, 2020
Publisher: modelaircraft
Question: How did that kind of help shape (you you know) going into the Navy and then eventually going on to work at NASA? I mean. Was there (was there) a connection there at all?
Answer: Oh absolutely man yeah, because you may not even realize it as you're doing modeling. But, you are learning about weight and balance. You're learning about stability and control. (Ah) You're learning about propulsion. You're learning about lift and drag.
And, you're not always focusing on those the way you do when you're studying aeronautical engineering for example. But, I remember as an example one time. I built a glider and Balsa Wood Wang. And, I made the fuselage just used a (uh a) wooden dowel, about a half-inch wooden dowel.
And, I remember saying to myself. Well, you know. Why in the world should I make a short nose on it, and then have to add a bunch of nose weight to it. I'll just make the wooden dowel long enough that it balances with just the wooden dowel.
Okay, well that sounds fine, yeah holding (holding the) the wing at the quarter chord point to check the balance. Yeah, it balanced. It didn't fly worth a darn. And, the reason was the fuselage had too much inertia in it.
And so, you'll learn. Like I say, you learn those kind of lessons building these models.
What I wound up doing of course was cutting off the long nose (uh) that I had put on this glider, and then adding weight to make the CG come out.
So, you learn. You learn about stability and control lift and drag and all of those things. So that definitely played a role in the success that I had learned how to fly and (ah) going through Navy pilot training. Because you learned a lot about why airplanes fly, how they fly. (Uh) Not just how to do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCS0EpmlO54&feature=youtu.be&t=362
Christopher Lusardi
Publisher: Tucson Weekly
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
Published March 13, 2025
He was a fighter pilot and later attended the US Navy's Test Pilot School.
https://tucsonweekly.com/tucson/first-flight-astronaut-robert-hoot-gibson-shares-familys-story/Content?oid=36844923
Christopher Lusardi
THE MAN WHO’S FLOWN EVERYTHING: Hoot Gibson: Combat Pilot, Test Pilot, Astronaut, Air Racer & more
Publisher: SocialFlight
Published: July 17, 2025
Being designated the Outstanding Student in Test Pilot School was important to the NASA selection board.
youtube.com/watch?v=WJJjAT