Bruce Peterson

Who was Bruce Peterson?

Bruce Peterson was a test pilot for NASA.

A native of Washburn, North Dakota, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles, and California Polytechnic State University. Peterson received his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Cal Poly in 1960.

Peterson joined NASA in August 1960 as an engineer at the Dryden Flight Research Center. After transferring to flight operations in 1962, he was assigned as one of the project pilots on the Rogallo paraglider research vehicle program. He made his first Paresev research flight on March 14, 1962. He was injured when the craft crashed from a height of about 10 feet during a ground tow flight. Always the consummate engineer, his first question after impact was, "What happened to the lateral stick forces?"

As a NASA research pilot he flew a wide variety of airplanes including the F5D-1, F-100, F-104, F-111A, B-52, NT-33A Variable Stability Trainer, the wingless lifting bodies and numerous general aviation aircraft as well as several types of helicopters and sailplanes.

On May 10, 1967, during the sixteenth glide flight of a lifting body Northrop M2-F2, a landing accident severely damaged the vehicle and seriously injured Peterson. After an extensive hospitalization, he recovered from his injuries but lost sight in one eye due to a secondary infection while in the hospital. He also made 17 NASA M2-F1, 2 other M2-F2 and 1 Northrop HL-10 lifting body flights.