Who: William Alison “Bill” Anders, former U.S. Air Force general, former NASA astronaut. One of the first three people to have traveled to the moon.
Hours: “I quit counting after about 13,000 hours. I have as many landings as I have hours."
Aircraft: “We have about 15 airplanes in the Heritage Flight Museum [Burlington, Washington]. I probably bought 12 of them.”
Extra: “We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered Earth.”
Pilot and retired astronaut Bill Anders took home an Emmy for TV footage he shot as the command module pilot for Apollo 8, and his photo Earthrise, which he captured December 24, 1968, was named one of the top 10 photographs of the last century. “I wish I had amillion for every time it’s been reproduced,” he says. Us too.
Started in aviation… My dad was the first naval officer to open fire on Japan, during the Rape of Nanking in 1936. I was 5 years old. Did you ever see Empire of the Sun? Well, my mother didn’t lose her grip on me in the train station. I was sitting on the porch watching the Japanese dropping bombs, and I thought it was pretty neat, that They’re doing this for me!
Early challenges… After flight training I asked for a fighter, and got assigned to an F-89 Scorpion in Iceland. I got a thousand hours in it. Remember Top Gun? I told Tom Cruise I was the first guy to give the Russians the finger.
Hardest lesson to learn… You really do need to follow the checklist. It’s good to have a simple checklist like GUMP to make sure you haven’t forgotten something.
Favorite aviation related activity… I love the Air Force Heritage FlightProgram. Frank Borman and I started it and flew for years in formation.
Favorite airplane… Whichever I happen to be flying. If I had to stick with one, it’s our P-51 Mustang Val-Halla—if someone else is buying the gas. If I’m paying for the gas it’s an O-1 Birddog.
Advice for students… Get a tailwheel rating. That separates the sheep from the goats. If you learn to fly, that separates the sheep from goats; if you learn to fly a tailwheel airplane it helps you in any airplane.
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