"The B-36 was the product of World War Two technology," Beryl Erickson, chief B-36 test pilot for Convair, reminds me as we stand in front of the last production B-36 now under restoration (see sidebar). "The original contract for it was let in 1941— the war hadn't even started for us yet. When the war did start, engineering work was already being done on the XB-36. Massive manpower…sliderules, no automation in engineering. It took thousands of people to do all the calculations in engineering."

     In contrast to the mammoth B-36 behind him, Beryl Erickson is a slight man who, he says, has never weighed more than 150 pounds. He looks and sounds younger than his 80 years. He and his wife, Billie, owned and flew a Cessna 210 from their home in Aspen, Colorado, until last year and plan to buy another soon. His first flying job was as an American Airlines DC-3 copilot in the 1930s. "I was helping them complete their purchases of new DC-3s. I was working as one of [Douglas Aircraft] test pilots…for free! I happened to live right there and gained experience as a test pilot and made application to various companies as the war approached. Consolidated [Aircraft] hired me."

Beryl was initially a test pilot on the B--24 and B-32 but quickly set his sights on the B-36. "That was really a plum, I could see. If I could get on the B-36 as head honcho pilot, I'd be set forever because it was such a big project…it was going to take years to get into the air and we'd have to have it because war, worldwide, was going to spread."

History has validated his decision.