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.