Engineer, Pilot, Astronaut Swept Hangars as Youth

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) paid tribute to USAF Major General Joe Henry Engle, who passed away on July 10, 2024.

Engle always had a passion to fly, even as a kid in Chapman, Kansas. But there wasn’t much flying or flight instruction there, so he had to put it off until he got to the University of Kansas where he spent summers sweeping hangars at Cessna. His boss recognized his passion and began teaching and mentoring him about airplanes. Engle graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering and a commission in the ROTC. The commission got him accepted to flight school at George Air Force Base in California. Between graduation and reporting to flight school he and his mentor built a kit airplane Engle flew around Wichita.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Amy Spowart, NAA President and CEO explained, “From then on, Joe’s career reads like a Hollywood movie. At fighter pilot training, he caught the attention of Chuck Yeager, who championed Joe’s assignment to the X-15 program. In 1965, Joe flew the X-15 to an altitude of 280,600 ft. and became the youngest astronaut pilot. The next year, he was a natural choice for NASA as the only candidate with spaceflight experience.”

Engle trained for the Apollo program but never made it to the moon. Instead, he pivoted to NASA’s next big program, the Space Shuttle. He was one of the crews launched from a modified Boeing 747 and conducted approach and landing tests in the Shuttle Enterprise. In 1981 he commanded the second flight of the Shuttle Columbia and manually performed the re-entry and nearly 30 flight test maneuvers during the descent from Mach 25 to the landing rollout.

Spowart added, "His distinction as the first astronaut pilot to fly two entirely different winged vehicles into space, the X-15 and the Space Shuttle, is a testament to his unparalleled skills and dedication."

Maj. Gen. Joe Engle received the NAA’s Robert J. Collier Award in 1981. It is given in the U.S. for the improvement of the concept of manned reusable spacecraft along with fellow astronauts John Young, Robert Crippen, and Richard Truly. Engle was awarded NAA’s National Harmon Trophy by President Ronald Reagan.

Maj. Gen. Joe Henry Engle passed away peacefully on July 10 with his loving wife Jeanie, and daughter Katie, at his side. In a statement from the family shared by Jeanie they said, "...His passing leaves a tremendous loss in our hearts. We take comfort that he has joined Tom (Stafford) and George (Abbey), two of the best friends anyone could ask for."

Blue skies and tailwinds, Maj. Gen. Joe Henry Engle.

FMI:  www.nasa.gov/history/x15/ , naa.aero/