John McTigue, Betty Love Honored as Eagles

Retired long-time NASA Dryden Flight Research Center employees John McTigue and Betty Love were among four individuals honored as 2009 Eagles by the Flight Test Historical Foundation during the group's annual Gathering of Eagles event Oct. 16. The foundation supports operation and improvements to the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum at Edwards Air Force Base.

This year's Gathering of Eagles, held at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster, Calif., focused on the 50th anniversary of the X-15 rocket plane's first glide and powered flights.

After serving as project engineer of X-15 number three during his earlier years at NASA Dryden, McTigue went on to become the Deputy Director of Flight Operations and then Chief of the Flight Support Division at Dryden, then under the management of NASA's Ames Research Center. His well-earned reputation as an engineer and manager perched him perfectly as a 2009 Eagle.

Love began her NASA career as a human computer, preparing and reducing flight data on research projects over two decades from the X-1 to the X-15 eras. Her well-known "can do" attitude and encouragement to others during her working years, as well as her dedication to voluntarily supporting Dryden's history office to ensure accurate documentation of Dryden's illustrious history in recent years, earned her the well-deserved honor as an Eagle of the foundation.

Also honored as 2009 Eagles during the event were retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert White, a former X-15 pilot and Air Force Flight Test Center commander, and retired flight test engineer Robert Hoey, who supervised mission planning and data analysis for many Air Force / NASA X-15 flights.