Robert Michael "Bob" White (July 6, 1924 – March 17, 2010)
Major Robert White flew the X-15 at 4,093 mph, making him the first pilot to fly
a winged craft at six times the speed of sound (Mach 6). The Air Force Chief
of Staff General Curtis E. LeMay awarded White a new rating as a Command
Pilot Astronaut.
Dedicated as Portland Columbia Airport when opening in 1940, the airport
served 99,000 passengers in its first year. After building longer runways to
meet the requirements of larger aircraft and international air service, the
airport was renamed Portland International Airport in 1951. By that time,
annual passenger counts quadrupled to 400,000. Today PDX serves a
record 16 million passengers annually, and offers nonstop routes to 57
domestic and nine international locations.
Tim Maguire
John Denver (Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.)
(December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997)
John Denver and his Long-EZ aircraft.
