There's a line from the 1983 Oscar-winning movie The Right Stuff that I've always liked. It's when Dennis Quaid/Gordon Cooper answers a reporters fairly routine question:

"Who was the best pilot I ever saw? Well, uh, you're lookin' at 'im."

My own sense of ego not withstanding, I like that scene because as someone who's used to putting on a bit of that pilot's swagger while costuming as a rebel pilot with Rebel Legion... it's very humbling to meet someone who embodies what it actually means to have "The Right Stuff."

Last weekend, several members of Rebel Legion and 501st got that chance as we were invited to take part in the Lewis Field Open House event at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. What made this event special was that it offered a chance to tour the Lewis Field hanger facility (not often open to the public) and tour several buildings at this working research facility. Since this was such a rare glimpse into the world of real-life space exploration, there was a HUGE turnout on both days.

NASA Glenn - Lewis Field Open House Mission Photos

For our part, this was a very simple event: stand around and pose for ALOT of pictures. It seems alot of people who enjoy real life space exploration are also huge Star Wars fans, even though several of our X-Wing pilots got asked "are you an astronaut?"

No... but I can tell you I've met one who is: Charles Camarda (STS-114 Discovery) He was at NASA Glenn signing autographs and stopped by to hang out with us for a while.

If someone were to ask me "Who's the best pilot you ever saw?" I'd have to pay respect to the real-life "star voyager" I've encountered...

otherwise... "well, you're looking at him!'