Bidspirit auction | Astronaut Phil Oestricher signed 1975

Astronaut Phil Oestricher signed 1975 NASA Space Shuttle F-16 NASA 215 FDC. Oestricher worked at Consolidated Vultee as an aerodynamics engineer on the B-36 bomber. He later served in the United States Marine Corps, where he flew the F4D Skyray. As a test pilot, Oestricher flew all models of the F-111 fighter-bomber. On January 20, 1974, Oestricher piloted the unscheduled first flight of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon at Edwards Air Force Base, California. While performing high-speed ground tests, Oestricher nearly lost control of the aircraft when it entered a series of roll oscillations. Oestricher elected to take the craft airborne to avoid crashing and remained in flight for six minutes. Oestricher also piloted the F-16's official first flight on February 2, 1974.He contributed to the development of multiple versions of the F-16 and established F-16 safety protocols.