Talk:William J. Knight

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Response by Paul Raveling 08:24, 18 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't supply this image of Pete Knight, but I believe it's one that probably was picked up from a State of California web site while he served as a State Senator. If that's the case a different legal principle applies: Documents, including photos, which are produced by a government entity or a contractor working with government funding are public distribution: The basic legal principle is that anything funded by the public is public property. These are technically "public distribution", not quite "public domain": Terms of use from the Federal government specify that such photos may be used freely for noncommercial purposes; written permission must be obtained for commercial use. The State of California probably has a similar if not identical legal position.

If there's any doubt please contact me at [email protected]. I can supply a replacement image which are in the U.S. government's public distribution category from NASA and USAF stock from the X-15 research program.

An unrelated footnote is that the situation faced by Knight on Flight 1-73-186 was more extreme than suggested by the report of total power failure, though it might be hard to document concisely for the general public. One problem was that simulations had indicated that the X-15 would be unstable on reentry without its Stability Augmentation System, which was inoperative due to the power failure on ascent. The other problem was that the power failure was due to failure of both APUs, which also caused loss of both hydraulic systems, in turn causing loss of all aerodynamic flight controls. Fortunately Knight was able to restart one APU before reentry, barely regaining use of aerodynamic flight controls. Each of those two problems "should have" required this flight to end in a pilot ejection at hypersonic speed. Knight succeeded in a remarkable save of both the aircraft and his own life. That particular X-15 was the #1, which now hangs in the Smithsonian NASM's Milestones of Flight gallery.

Paul Raveling 08:24, 18 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Is there any information on his personal life, such as his wife or children? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.194.2.9 (talk) 15:50, 22 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why is his party affiliation not shown? Isn't that standard practice for a politician? 174.58.138.200 (talk) 17:09, 4 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Considering that his son, Steve Knight, is serving in the California Legislature as a Republican, it's likely that Pete Knight was a Republican, too, but that's just speculation on my part. — Quicksilver^{T @} 15:56, 26 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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