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Up for sale a RARE! "XB-70 Valkyrie" Alvin S. White Hand Signed 3X5 Card.
ES-4610
Alvin
Swauger "Al" White (December
9, 1918 – April 29, 2006) was an American test pilot and mechanical engineer. He
flew the maiden flights of
both XB-70 Valkyrie aircraft,
the first 2,000 mph flight, and all subsequent Mach 3 exploration flights. Born
on December 9, 1918, to Harold H. White Sr. (1888–1974) and Ruth A. Winkleman
(1894–1975) in Berkeley, California.
After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the University of California
at Davis in 1936 to study electrical engineering,
and transferred to the campus at Berkeley two
years later. He began his flying career in the Civilian Pilot Training
Program, receiving his license in 1940. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air and graduated from training at Williams Field, Arizona in
1942. He later flew bomber escorts and strafing missions over Europe in
the P-51 Mustang with
the 355th Fighter Group from D-Day through V-E Day.
After the war, White completed his Bachelor of Science degree
in mechanical engineering at
the UC Berkeley in 1947, and went on to become an engineering test pilot for
the U.S. Air Force and North American Aviation. He
participated in a variety of flight test programs over his career, including
the F-86 Sabre jet, the F-100 Super Sabre series, the YF-107 and the X-15. In 1958, White
was selected for the U.S. Air Force's Man in Space Soonest manned
spaceflight program. The program ended early due to financial and technical
difficulties. In 1961, he was selected as chief test pilot for the flight test
program of the XB-70 Valkyrie, the
world's largest supersonic aircraft, piloting the first flights of both XB-70s
and taking the aircraft through the buildup programs to flight at Mach 3. On
June 8, 1966, he was the sole survivor of the mid-air collision that
destroyed the XB-70 #2 prototype and killed his co-pilot, Major Carl Cross,
USAF, and noted aviator Joe Walker. White ejected from the XB-70, sustaining
serious injuries, including one arm being crushed as it was caught in the
clamshell-like escape capsule as it closed around him just before ejection from
the aircraft. Later
in 1966, White joined Trans World Airlines as
manager of flight operations, research and development. In 1969, he became a consultant in the field of
aviation and aeronautics, working primarily as an expert witness in accident
investigation litigation, requiring simulation of accident flight conditions in
a comparable aircraft.
After 8,500 hours of flying time in over 125 different aircraft, he retired
from the ranks of active pilots and settled in Tucson, Arizona. He died in Arizona in 2006.
