The Mellotron Group

You were very lucky, Tony. I, for one, would have given anything to have  
had that experience.
 
Frank 
 
 
In a message dated 12/22/2010 11:07:53 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
atm655@verizon.net writes:

 
 
 
Thanks for reading it.
Hard to compress that kind of  experience, but it  was a once in a lifetime 
event, once in the history  of mankind!
Sadly I am the only one of the four of  us that's still alive.
That's part of life.
 
Tony
 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: _Tom  Doncourt_ (mailto:tomdcour@amnh.org)  
To: _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com)   
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010  10:33 AM
Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] other  Apollo 11



Thanks for the great retelling, Tony. Like you , I hope to live long  
enough to see us return to space exploration, humankind pushing the envelope  of 
it's technological potential.

On Dec 22, 2010, at 10:20 AM, Tony wrote:



 


I had just turned 14 in June and  was already flying sailplanes, so dad 
decided as a slightly belated  gift, to fly my late cousin, mom, and I down for 
the launch in his  plane.
Titusville's airport was te busiest  in the U.S. on that day (no surprise), 
and the rows of corporate jets was  a sight in itself.
 
We sat in the terminal with a lot  of other folks on that hot July morning, 
watching the TV coverage, as  the countdown timer hit around T-4 mins we 
went outside approx 7 miles  from the launch vehicle. The com between 
controllers and spacecraft was on  the PA system, and as the launch teams ran down 
the go/no go list you felt  like the tension could be cut with a knife.
 
365 feet of pure white and black on  a beautifull, bright sun lit launch 
pad, packing 7 million pounds of fuel,  the count reached T-10 seconds and the 
sequence began. All engines running  after about 3 seconds and in 7 more 
seconds full power and  liftoff!
 
We initially felt the earth shake  pretty quickly, before we could hear it. 
But a buffeting in the chest was  impressive and then the sound arrived.
So many emotions, national pride,  awe, envy, respect.
 
Among my dad many interests he  always had the best optics around, so we 
all had great binoculars, and saw  the first stage detach, IBM inter ring 
detach, 2nd stage ignition, and  launch escape system and cover jettison (at 
220,000 feet)! 
 
John your explanation is better  "indescribable"!
 
Now after 35 years of living in Fla  I've seen with the naked eye many 
Space Shuttles launched from my yard on  the west coast.
They remind me of that day  everytime, and I'm sad that we have just one 
more flight  left.
 
I just hope I live long enough to  see us return to exploring space, not 
just near earth orbit.
But that involves politics, and I  usually know better than to go there, 
but they ALL do!
 
Tony
 
 
. ----- Original Message  ----- 

From: _John Wright_ (mailto:john.wright@consona.com)  
To: _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com)   
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010  8:22 AM
Subject: RE: [newmellotrongroup]  other Apollo 11





Hi Tony,
 
That is amazing.  I know a few people that  have seen the Shuttle launch 
from many miles away and they described the  sound as incredible.  How close 
were you and what did the Saturn V  sound like?  Kind of a dumb question 
because probably  indescribable, but I imagine even several miles away it was 
felt as well  as heard.
 
John


 
____________________________________
 From: _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com)   [mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of  Tony
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 11:35  PM
To: _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) 
Subject:  Re: [newmellotrongroup] Speaking of the moon.....total lunar 
eclipse  Dec 20 / 21






I am fortunate enough to  have seen Apollo 11 launched in person, July 16,  
1969.
Guess they managed to pull off  quite a trick indeed!
 
Tony