Anyone know anything about this?

[Rob52240]

I remember reading once about how when the USAF began testing jet powered aircraft, some of the pilots would put a gorilla mask on if they got near another airplane.

I remember one of test pilots saying something along the lines of it was done because there was no way another pilot would want to tell anyone that they saw an airplane flying with no propeller and being flown by a gorilla for fear of being declared insane.

[MachFly]

I have tough time believing that (I'm not saying that I don't believe you, I'm saying the source might be wrong). You realize how close you have to be to another aircraft to be able to see the pilot's face?

[Tupac]

I need to buy a gorilla mask.

[MachFly]

I need to buy a gorilla mask.

I see the future...

[SIK1]

I've heard the story, but it's not all the test pilots just one of them. His name escapes me he was the chief test pilot for Lockheed iirc. The story I heard was he would bounce a normal prop driven plane fly alongside wearing a gorilla mask with a cigar in his mouth and a derby on his head wave and fly off. I heard the story on an old discovery wings program.  

[Banshee7]

I've heard the story, but it's not all the test pilots just one of them. His name escapes me he was the chief test pilot for Lockheed iirc. The story I heard was he would bounce a normal prop driven plane fly alongside wearing a gorilla mask with a cigar in his mouth and a derby on his head wave and fly off. I heard the story on an old discovery wings program.  

I miss Discovery Wings channel!

[Tupac]

I miss Discovery Wings channel!

Me too. Even though I was little, I still remember watching the show where they built homebuilts

[Saxman]

Me too. Even though I was little, I still remember watching the show where they built homebuilts

Hell, I remember watching Wings before it was a separate channel.

[Rino]

     I've actually seen a picture of the pilot posing in the cockpit in a gorilla mask.  That story and another one about the back seater of a T-33 pretending to "light" the jet from the rear with a rolled up burning newspaper at airshows are well known.

     Good to see some pilots had a sense of humor 

[Dichotomy]

I need to buy a gorilla mask.

you mean you haven't been wearing one all of this time?

[dedalos]

I remember reading once about how when the USAF began testing jet powered aircraft, some of the pilots would put a gorilla mask on if they got near another airplane.

I remember one of test pilots saying something along the lines of it was done because there was no way another pilot would want to tell anyone that they saw an airplane flying with no propeller and being flown by a gorilla for fear of being declared insane.

I had no idea jet planes were a secret

[Ack-Ack]

I've heard the story, but it's not all the test pilots just one of them. His name escapes me he was the chief test pilot for Lockheed iirc. The story I heard was he would bounce a normal prop driven plane fly alongside wearing a gorilla mask with a cigar in his mouth and a derby on his head wave and fly off. I heard the story on an old discovery wings program.  

Jack Woolams was the Lockheed test pilot in question.

Here is one example of the story.

The fable is reminiscent of the P-59's saga: the story of the first
military jet aircraft to fly in the United States—an aircraft that
apparently no one could see. The date was 1942; the location was Muroc
Army Air Field (today Edwards Air Force Base). Whenever it was on the
ground, the P-59 was fitted with a fake propeller for the sake of secrecy.
Unfortunately for secrecy, at the local watering hole, test pilots mixed
with P-38 pilots stationed nearby. After slugging down a few drinks, the
test pilots bragged about flying a propellerless aircraft and were
immediately labeled as liars by the P-38 crowd—fighting words for sure.
Subsequently, test-pilot Jack Woolams decided to put them in their place,
not with his fists but with something far more effective. 2
He rented a gorilla suit and took off wearing it along with a big cigar
protruding from his mouth and a derby hat on his head. Once airborne, he
found a lone P-38 pilot, pulled alongside, giving the P-38 pilot a clear
view of the jet and gorilla suit, then waved, much to the shock of his
intended target. The next day when queried at the local watering hole, not
a single P-38 pilot had seen an "escaped gorilla" or knew anything about
it. The explanation: why of course, it must be that P-38 pilots could only
see what they believed was possible. Yeah, right. Apparently, the P-38
pilots never again questioned the possibility of propellerless aircraft,
let alone the honesty of test pilots.

Although the events are not even a century old, already there are more
than one version of the Jack Woolams tale. All are slightly different. One
version relates that there were multiple sightings of the gorilla-piloted
jet and that the base psychiatrist talked several P-38 pilots out of
believing what they saw.3 Who knows? The fact is, that even if someone
sees and believes a phenomenon, it doesn't mean they will honestly talk
about it. And if they do, it doesn't mean that the details will be
perfectly remembered in the historical record—especially if there isn't
one.

And here is another story that only mentions the derby hat and cigar.

During the test program, a formation of P-38 Lightnings , on a training mission over the Mojave Desert was overtaken by an Airacomet. The P-38 pilots were puzzled when they saw the plane with no propeller. Stranger still, the Airacomet pilot was wearing a derby hat and had a cigar in his mouth. After a few seconds, the jet pilot tipped his hat politely and pulled away from the formation. This was the first time that Air Force personnel, except for a select few at the test base, had ever seen a jet propelled airplane.

ack-ack

[Curlew]

I miss Discovery Wings channel!

+1

[SIK1]

Jack Woolams was the Lockheed test pilot in question.
ack-ack

That's it! Jack Woolams.
I kept looking for variations on Jack Wiggems (I must watch too much of the Simpsons), and of course had no joy.