We’re Not Worthy!

By ANN Correspondent Aleta Vinas

Finally, the session I have been waiting for. I am like a kid in a candy store – Robert "Hoot" Gibson, Brian Binnie and Eileen Collins (below, surrounded by her fans) -- here, all together for the last General Session at the Women in Aviation Conference in Nashville, TN.

I’m giddy! I shook their hands, hands that have piloted spacecraft. Hands of leaders in aviation. I’m in awe! I may never wash my hands again (four days and counting... I’m kidding). They graciously signed autographs, not just with me but with the other ladies that attended. Collins was surrounded by her fans! She wore purple, by the way, my favorite color.

Prior to Gibson, Binnie and Collins, I vaguely remember some scholarships being distributed and Nicole Piasecki with the Boeing Company speaking. My head was in the clouds, it’s a blur, that and the fact that my tape recording of the event came out less than understandable (for the most part) makes this an article filled only with the highlights that I managed to write down.

Collins spoke first; she started off with how she became involved in aviation. As a child she was bitten by the aviation bug during the family outings to the nearby airport in Elmira (NY). By age 20, she had saved up $1,000 for flying lessons... and look where she is now. Collins has flown on the space shuttle four times, becoming the first woman to pilot and then command a shuttle mission. Her most recent mission was Discovery's return-to-flight last year.

Gibson was the moderator, but managed to show a bit of envy as he introduced Binnie -- despite the fact Gibson has logged more than 36 days in space, flying on five shuttle missions (he commanded four of them.)

"I was never on the cover of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum magazine," said Gibson ruefully.

Binnie downplayed his contribution to commercial spaceflight a bit, and paid homage to Collins and Gibson by bowing to them and calling them gods.

No one argued.

A short video clip of the first flight of a small scale model SpaceShipOne shows the ship crashing into the building it was released from. To get to the breakthroughs, and perfect your design, Binnie quoted Burt Rutan as saying you must "have confidence in nonsense."

Speaking of his flight on SpaceShipOne, Binnie describes the last 20 seconds of engine burn sounding like a "possessed cat."

A question from the audience about the panelist’s future goals has Collins wanting to go back next as a space tourist (a tourinaut?). Gibson definitely wants to go back, and though Rutan actually turned down Gibson’s offer to join Scaled Composites, Gibson is working on some other projects that may see him back in space.

Gibson mentions aviation is habit forming in all of its forms, and he is "glad I’m totally addicted."

"Seeing the Earth from space is one of the most fantastic things I’ve ever done. Seeing the earth for yourself as one globe it means a lot more," said Collins in her parting words to WAI.

FMI: www.wai.org, www.scaled.com, www.nasa.gov