William J. 'Pete' Knight died on May 7th from acute myelogenous leukemia. He was known as "The Fastest Man Alive" after flying the X-15A-2 to Mach 6.7 (4,520 mph) on October 3, 1967. He was also the seventh pilot awarded astronaut wings for flying an airplane to 280,500 feet altitude on October 17, 1967. After 10 years of test flying, he then flew 253 combat missions in the F-100 Super Sabre over Vietnam. After Vietnam, Col. Knight was the thenth pilot to fly the F-15 Eagle, and ended his career as vice commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center, where was also active in the F-16 test program. He retired from the air force in 1982 with 32 years of service. He had over 6,000 flying hours in 100 different types of high-performance aircraft. He went into politics as a California State Senator and served in that body until his death.

California State Senate Republican Caucus
X-15 Pilots: Pete Knight