STICK-AND-RUDDER TIME ED10-0230-12 Former NASA space shuttle astronaut and noted air race pilot Robert ''Hoot'' Gibson was all smiles after getting some stick-and-rudder time in a NASA F/A-18 Hornet mission support aircraft during a pilot proficiency flight with NASA Dryden research pilot Jim Smolka. Although Gibson had been a carrier-qualified Navy fighter pilot early in his career before joining NASA's astronaut corps, he had never previously flown in an F/A-18. Gibson was at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center to give an informal presentation on his flying career, along with being honored by the Lancaster, Calif., JetHawks baseball team during its annual Aerospace Appreciation Night. August 12, 2010 (NASA photo / Carla Thomas)
