page_title: Robert L. Gibson
section_title: Post-NASA career
hierarchical_section_title: Robert L. Gibson / Post-NASA career
caption_attribution_description: English: Hawker Sea Fury aka September Fury race 232 photo D Ramey Logan
context_page_description: Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson, is a former American naval officer and aviator, test pilot and aeronautical engineer. A retired NASA astronaut, he also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1992 to 1994. Gibson is active as a professional pilot who currently races regularly at the annual Reno Air Races.
context_section_description: Gibson left NASA in November 1996 and became a pilot for Southwest Airlines. In 2006, as reported by NASA Watch, Gibson was forced to retire as mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration for commercial airline pilots. Gibson has publicly spoken out against federal regulations which require airline pilots to retire at age 60. In December 2006, he joined the Benson Space Company as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Test Pilot. Gibson has flown 111 different aircraft types, and has become a regular competitor at the annual Reno Air Races. In 1998, Gibson flying the Hawker Sea Fury "Riff-Raff" won the Unlimited Class in the Inaugural Running of the EAA AirVenture Cup Race.
  In October 2007, Gibson was a contestant on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. During his appearance, he became the first contestant to make it to the million-dollar question without using any of his cheats. He incorrectly answered the $1,000,000 question ("How many factors do 32 and 28 share?"). The correct answer is three; 1, 2, and 4. He answered with two (2 and 4). All of his prize money ($25,000) went to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.
  Beginning in 2009, Gibson flew as a demonstration pilot for Hawker Beechcraft Corporation to showcase the Premier 1A light business jet across the United States and overseas.
  In 2010, The Academy of Model Aeronautics, the United States' national aeromodeling organization, named Gibson a spokesperson and Ambassador to promote the hobby of radio controlled model flight and to encourage an interest in aviation amongst young people. Gibson has stated that his interest in manned flight and his career as a test pilot and astronaut has its origin in his building of model aircraft as a youth. Gibson remains an avid radio controlled model hobbyist and is reportedly constructing a flyable version of the experimental vertical take off and landing Convair XFY-1 Pogo of the 1950s.
  In September 2013, Gibson qualified the Hawker Sea Fury known as "September Fury" in race #232 at the 50th National Championship Air Races at a speed of 479.164 mph. This is the fastest Sea Fury qualifying time.
  In September 2015, Gibson qualified the P51-D, known as "Strega" at the 52nd National Championship Air Races at a speed of 475.043. With a little bit of luck and some epic flying, Robert Lee "Hoot" Gibson took the checkered flag in the Gold Unlimited Race finishing at 488.983 mph average speed. He was crowned the Unlimited Gold Champion for 2015.
caption: Hawker Sea Fury aka September Fury race 232
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