Curt Budd gone west

Curt Budd, Jr., advised me that his father, Curt Budd, Sr., died in March 2011. Curt Budd was one of the C-133 pioneers at Dover. He went from C-124s in the 1st to an early copilot class in the 39th, where veterans of the 1700th Test Sq were the instructors. He shows up on twelve pages of my book, an indication of his willingness to share his experiences.

Those included interesting interactions with the RAF, during an RON at Hemswell and a 20,000 pound Navy overload at Norfolk. At Christmas 1959, per sealed orders from the 39th commander, he picked up sixty cases of liquor at Chateauroux. That light load was for Christmas parties in the 39th and US Customs.

Curt also commented that the early, more experienced C-133 crews thought that takeoffs a few knots above Dash One numbers made for better performance. He thought that younger pilots might have had more problems with stalls in heavy-weight climbs, when they went strictly by the book.

Thanks, Curt.

Cal Taylor