GC pilot's mark on moon program

SHALIMAR, Fla. – On July 20, America will mark the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon - in 1969. The massive technological achievement involved thousands of people from across the nation, including retired Air Force fighter pilot Col. Jack Petry of Shalimar, Fla., who retired from the AF after commanding the 33rd Tactical Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. Petry’s piloting skills helped NASA at a critical time in its effort to put an astronaut on the moon. A pair of F-4 Phantom jets from MacDill AFB’s job in 1965 was to approach the Gemini 4 Titan missile from opposite directions, and follow it downrange. Each aircraft had two high-speed cameras mounted under each wing and calibrated to the jets’ gun sights. NASA needed the aerial footage to determine how well the metal skin of the Titan was going to stand the heat and pressure. The timeline was four years before Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Petry is part of a Smithsonian Channel series, “Air Warriors,” in which an episode on the F-4 and unique mission will air March 18 at 4 p.m. (Source: NW Fla. Daily News 02/08/19)