Bill Fox SR-71 Talk Review

Bill Fox, former Skunkworks project coordinator, renowned member of the
Roadrunners Internationale (see http://roadrunnersinternationale.com/),
former head of the notorious Area 51, and all-around great guy put on a
wonderful show for us last night, at the Alexis Park Inn & Suites in Iowa
City.

25 select attendees (the maximum our little theater can hold) were treated
to a two-hour presentation that included Bill talking about his years at the
Skunkworks working on the SR-71 Blackbird, the Aquila (pilotless recon)
program, the F-117 Stealth Fighter, the U-2, and many other "lesser"
programs from the 1960s through the 1980s.

His talk was followed by several unique videos (certainly not stuff you can
buy at Blockbuster!) about the SR-71, the D-21 drone (that was used to
overfly Russia after Congress made it illegal for manned aircraft to do so),
and the many programs at Area 51.

The presentation *was* filmed, but the cameraman left before the "question &
answer" period at the end, so we missed some of the really "good stuff"
about Martian bodies (no, they aren't kept at Area 51), about his boss,
Kelly Johnson, and about the ultimate demise of the Blackbird program -- but
it should still be pretty good stuff.

Once we get it into DVD format, I'll let everyone know.

Because his appearance turned out to be so popular, Bill has offered to do
the talk again in the future. He really is a great guy, accepting no
compensation whatever for his time and effort (well, we *did* give him the
coveted "Alexis Park Inn & Suites" baseball cap... ;-), and being incredibly
supportive of Mary and me. If you get the chance to see/meet him, I urge
you to take advantage.

(BTW: Big John, Bill had never heard of the "Blackbird brought down by the
shuttle explosion" story, so I suspect it's bogus.)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"