William Rankin, The Man Who Rode The Thunder
Glenn Pew (http://www.glennpew.com/) for AVweb.com. This story is legendary. And it begins with a legendary aircraft, the F8 Crusader. The Crusader was the first American fighter to fly faster than 1,000 miles per hour. in 1957, then future astronaut and senator John Glenn piloted one to set a transcontinental speed record. In vietnam it earned a kill ratio of 6:1. and In 1962 camera-equipped unarmed Crusaders retrieved photographic evidence flying over Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis. the jet's abilities were in many ways unrivaled, but our story begins with one instance where they fell short. And that story begins with William Rankin, the man who rode the thunder.
